


Retrieval of Self

by ishkaw



Category: X-Men Evolution
Genre: Action, Angst, Explicit Language, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Self Confidence Issues, Team Dynamics, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-01-23 18:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 61,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1574867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishkaw/pseuds/ishkaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A training exercise crashed by a group of mercenaries leads to capture and to a dilapidated building hiding a sinister secret. Their failure as a team causes the X-men to question themselves, each other, their abilities, and their humanity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Capture

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on fanfic.net back in 2008. 
> 
> I've been working on this awhile, and do plan on finishing it at some point. 
> 
> Please enjoy.

** Retrieval of Self **

 

“Alright, this exercise is to test your abilities and teamwork in a normal setting.”

 “Ja, I walk through big, creepy forests all the time on my way to school.”

 “Can it, Elf,” Logan glared in Nightcrawler’s direction before continuing on. “You never know when and where you might be attacked, and it ain’t likely you’ll be attacked in the Danger Room.”

 “But I thought, like, the Danger Room sessions were preparing us for battle,” Kitty questioned as she brought her pink hooded pullover over her head. There was a weak afternoon sun and a cool, steady breeze blowing through the forest they were standing in, making it a bit chilly for her.

 “The Danger Room does train you how to use your powers in certain situations, but last time I looked, the Danger Room wasn’t a holodeck*,” Logan replied.

 “Logan watches Star Trek?” An amused Jean whispered to Rogue.  

 “Blame it on Kurt and Evan,” Rogue whispered back, “they like to watch the reruns in the Living Room.” Rogue had to hide a smirk before continuing, “Logan claims to be reading the paper when it’s on, but I once saw him holding the paper upside down.”

 “I bet he’s just jealous he can’t do the Vulcan salute like I always can,” Kurt demonstrated by raising his hand and turning on his Inducer. Jean and Rogue giggled, causing an irritated Scott Summers to turn in their direction.

 “Pay attention, team.” Scott tried to imitate Wolverine’s glare, but considering he was Scott and notWolverine, his effort only caused more stifled laughs.

 Logan gave a slight growl, which did cause everyone to shut up and focus in on him. “Everyone now ready to get serious,” Logan gave a significant look at Kurt who meekly nodded. “Good. Now you are all in your street clothes cause you aren’t always gonna be in your uniform when attacked. You gotta learn how to adjust to the situation you’re in. Means that you gotta pay attention not to let your jacket get grabbed on a branch or by the enemy or let your hair bother you in battle.” Jean stopped trying to shove her hair blown by the breeze from her face. She jealously stole a glance towards Kitty. Kitty was lucky that she always wore her hair up, and Rogue never seemed to care if her hair was hanging in her face. She could feel a few pieces of hair annoyingly caught up in her mouth, but she wasn’t going to remove them in front of the disgruntled Logan.

 “Now here’s how it’s gonna go,” Logan explained as a breeze kicked up the leaves at his feet, “the forest is gonna be your battleground, but don’t go further than from what I can hear in this clearing. There’s an old abandoned building over to the West,” Logan pointed out. “You go in there and you’ll be cleaning the X-jet for the next month.” Logan added a glare to make sure his message got across. He didn’t want to have to deal with students trapped in a collapsed building today. “The river where we parked the X-jet is the northern boundary -”

 “Man, I wish he’d hurry up,” Evan complained to Kitty while rubbing his arms. “If he doesn’t finish soon all my spikes are goin’ to be covered in ice.”

 “Maybe like, by the time he’s finished, we can pretend we all got frozen in place and can’t do his little exercise.”

 “Seriously.”

 “ – in pairs. Jean,” Logan nodded to her, “you’re opponent will be Kurt. Kitty, you fight Evan, and that leaves Rogue and Scott. The first to incapacitate the other wins, and remember, make good use of your surroundings.” Logan glanced at each student as they just stood there looking at him as if expecting the voice of God to come out of his throat. “Well, go!” That got everyone darting off in different directions, except for Nightcrawler who turned off his Inducer and teleported away. “Pf, kids,” Logan sighed as he shook his head.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Jean ran off to the east for a bit, then stopped and concentrated her thoughts. Kurt was always the easiest to find, all she had to do was look for the mind that thought in German. Too bad she didn't know German, otherwise she'd know what he was planning. With a quick grin, she continued east, trying to sniff out where he’d teleported, but the breeze was quickly whisking any scent away.

 Kurt had teleported several hundred feet away from the clearing where Logan stood. He hid up in the trees, letting his ability to blend in the shadows take effect and he narrowly slit his eyes to make himself more scarce. He could see Jean making her way towards him now, her bright red hair like a brilliant arrow pointing towards his target for him. As soon as she went by his tree, he’d quietly jump down and take her by surprise, quick enough so she couldn’t use her telepathy or telekinesis. Any second now, she’d be in prime tackling position. His muscles tightened in anticipation. “Ach!” Kurt let out a small cry of pain. Looking behind him, he could see a squirrel nibbling on the end of his tail. “Let go, you Nagetier**.” Kurt shook his tail free and watched the squirrel scamper into his hole. He turned around to ascertain where Jean was, hoping he hadn’t missed his chance and was barely able to dodge the branch that zoomed past his head.

 Jean smugly smiled up at him and gave a small wave before levitating another branch off the forest floor. Kurt, his hiding position now compromised, bamfed away. Now he’d have to rethink his strategy, knowing that his sneak attack wouldn’t work a second time as Jean would know to look up in the trees for him. He teleported a bit further this time, appearing on another tree branch. Before he moved any, though, he spotted a group of men dressed in some type of military uniform standing right below him.

 “ – these tranqs should knock them all out in one hit except the big burly man. He’ll take a few more.” One of the men, who was obviously the leader by his authoritative tone and fancier dress, cocked his gun. Kurt was barely able to hold in his gasp of shock as he observed the scene below him. He made sure that every part of his body was still and that he was well hidden before continuing to listen.

 “Here are your other targets.” The leader bent down and grabbed a file that was open to a picture of Wolverine with his claws out, looking fierce at something off camera. The leader flipped the page and came upon some more photos. “This here is Scott Summers. He shoots a laser beam out of his eyes. We figured his unusual ruby glasses he never takes off even when raining must keep the beam from firing. He also seems to be the leader of the bunch. Take him out and the others will most likely easily follow.”

 Kurt was worried and relieved at the same time. The group had been spying on them for awhile. The photo was one of Scott from school firing a small burst at the door to his car to open it. Scott hadn’t wanted the others to know that he had locked his keys in the car, but Evan, who was with him at the time, had told Kurt of the mishap of their fearless leader. They had shared a good laugh over the thought of perfectionist Scott being so careless and embarrassed. Though the men knew of Scott’s powers, they had still underestimated them if they thought they’d be easy pickings if Scott went down.

 “ – doesn’t disappears but rather fades and can reach into things. You’ll have to hit her when she’s solid. Next,” a page turned, “is this beauty. As you can see here, the rock is floating on its own.”

 “So is she like a Jedi?” A green-looking trooper asked with a little wonder and jealousy in his voice.

 “Yes,” the leader rolled his eyes, “like a Jedi she can lift things with her mind.”

 “Can she do Jedi mind tricks too!” The same boy eagerly asked. “These are not the droids you’re looking for.” He imitated as he waved his hand in front of the others’ eyes.

 “No, not that we know of. Now stop joking around, shut up and listen,” the leader barked. “Finally, this boy can form and shoot spikes from any part of his body. I want you to be extra careful with this one. I don’t want to be dealing with any one of you staked through the heart.” The surrounding group gave an audible gulp at the mention of that. The green recruit, ignorant of the reality of the danger, smiled at his thought of the boy hunting vampires in the night, but this time he kept his thoughts to himself.

 “Now the only two we don’t know about are this girl here and this boy.” The leader pointed to the pictures of Rogue and an inducered Kurt. With a small grin to himself, Kurt felt a bit smug and justified that his porting spots near and at school were safe from prying eyes if these men hadn’t discovered them. Scott had always worried and complained about Kurt sometimes porting to school. If Kurt was any lesser of a man he’d rub it in Scott’s face; instead, Kurt would be sure to just mention it every hour instead of every other minute. “All we know about them is that neither of them really touch anyone, so I recommend avoiding contact with either of them as a safety precaution. Shoot from a distance.”

 Kurt decided that the group was about to wrap up on their little powwow, and that he got all the information he needed, so he timed his teleport to cover its sound with when the man closed his folder. He ported several trees away, scanning the area frantically for Jean. He didn’t want her to run into that bunch unprepared. There, his flashing red arrow.

  _Bamf_. “What? Kurt – “ _Bamf_.

 

Logan was enjoying his time to himself as the kids wandered off in the forest. He’d check on them in a bit, but right now he just wanted to enjoy his cigar. Yup, this was much better than the Danger Room sessions where he couldn’t have a nice deserved break. All he needed was the cool breeze, the crisp smell of the fall leaves in the forest, and his cigar. Hmf, a cold one would be nice too. Next time he’d bring a six pack. Maybe a lawn chair. And a TV with a Star Trek DVD. Nah, wouldn’t want the kids to know about that little secret. It’d ruin his reputation.

 He pulled another drag from his stogie with a relaxed look on his face, daydreaming about his beer, but his look vanished when Kurt and Jean appeared right next to him. He wasn’t surprised by their sudden appearance, no he was never taken by surprise. He was just a bit unprepared, that’s all.

 “What do you two think you’re doing!” Logan demanded. He could feel any stress relieved from his small break coming back ten-fold. The smell of brimstone wasn’t a very good mix with cigar smoke. His pleasant moment alone was ruined.

 Jean was looking a little green from the side-along porting but she shrugged her shoulders in response, so Logan stared Kurt down for the answer.

 “A group of military men are in the forest!” Kurt anxiously waved his arms towards the east where the men gathered, his tail lashing back and forth behind him in agitation. “They know about us and have tranquillizers to knock us out!”

 “Shit,” Logan murmured as he dropped his cigar and rubbed it out under his foot. All traces of his relaxation disappearing as he prepared for battle. “How many were there?”

 “The group that was being briefed to attack were about twenty men, but there were more around some black trucks.”

 “What else?”

 “They know about all of our powers except me and Rogue, and Jean’s telepathy,” Kurt explained, he could feel the calm he forced himself in as he spied on the military men slowly ebb away as his panic and adrenalin rose.

 Logan nodded and then turned to Jean, “Can you locate the others?”

 After a second, Jean pointed towards the southwest, “Kitty and Evan are that way,” and then pointed west, “and Rogue and Scott are there.”

 “Alright, Elf, you go and bring the others back here asap.” Before Kurt could port off, Logan grabbed his wrist and turned on his watch. “Better to keep ‘em guessing.”

 With a nod, Kurt disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 “Jean, can you get a read on where these goons are?”

 Jean put a hand to her head, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, “They’re closing in! They’ll be here soon. We won’t be able to make it back to the X-jet in time!”

 “Not if I can help it,” Logan growled and with a _snikt_ , he unleashed his claws.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 “You can keep on throwing those spikes all you want, Evan,” Kitty taunted as she let three more spikes phase through her stomach and thud into the tree behind her, “I’m just going to keep on phasing right through them!”

 Evan scowled but held onto the remaining spike he had in his hand. “Well, I don’t see you attacking. What are you going to do? Phase me to death?”

 “It’s called a surprise attack, Evan. I’ll just phase through when you least expect it!” Kitty said as she phased through a tree, and disappeared from sight.

 “It’s not a surprise anymore if you tell me it!” Evan returned, but he had lost sight of Shadowcat for the moment. With her little taunting in his mind, he put himself on high alert for any nearby movements. Any second now, she’d make a go for it. He just had to be patient…he wasn’t good at patience.

 He tossed his spike up in the air, watched it flipped and caught it. Still no Kitty. Maybe if he whistled, she’d think he was off guard and then he’d -

 There! To the right of him, he could see a pink pullover peeking out from behind a tree. He threw his spike and success! Kitty was now stuck to a tree by the spike through her pullover’s hood.

 “Ha! Logan did say to be aware of what we wear,” Evan quipped as he sauntered over to Kitty.

 “Yeah, and Logan also said to be aware of your surroundings.” Kitty phased herself free as she smugly watched Evan trip over a log in his path. Right as she was going to launch herself at him, Kurt ported right in between them. “Kurt! What are you doing? I was about to beat Evan!”

 “What?! More like I was about to kick your – “

 “No time to explain, Katzchen, we have to get out of here,” and with that Kurt grabbed onto both of them and teleported them to the clearing.

 After letting them go, Kurt bamfed away again to get Rogue and Scott.

 “What’s, like, going on?” Kitty asked, a bit frightened to see Logan with his claws extended and a grimace on his face, and feeling a bit green from the port.

 “We’re being hunted like damn animals for who knows what,” Logan spat on the ground. Logan had an idea in his mind why these men were after them with tranquillizers, but he didn’t want to voice his thoughts and scare the teens so that they’d be too worried to escape.

 “Kurt better get back here soon. We’ll be able to see them soon enough,” Jean muttered.

 “Kitty, Evan,” Logan began but never got finish his sentence as Kurt reappeared with Rogue and Scott in hand and tail.

 “What’s going on?” Scott asked, leaves sticking out all over his hair and clinging to his clothes, and in a different situation, would've been ridiculed relentlessly. Rogue was in a similar state of disarray.

 “Some men are after us, that’s all you need to know,” Logan began leading them away from the clearing. “Now that we’re all here, let’s hightail it back to the X-jet!” With that everyone starting running towards where they had parked the jet, with Logan lagging behind a bit to make sure everyone got away safely.

 Suddenly, darts began to shoot past them, one so close Jean could feel where it had passed her hair. Kitty was able to phase herself and Rogue to prevent them from getting hit as they fell into a flat run. Holding tight onto Rogue’s gloved hand, Kitty phased through fallen branches and trees, making a straight path to the X-jet.

 “They must’ve heard us begin to run!” Scott yelled as he ran. Glancing back to get a look at who was after them, he grabbed onto Jean and threw them both to the ground as a volley of darts passed over where she had been running. “There’s too many of them, we aren’t going to make it!” Scott stood up and turned around, hand at his visor, ready to shoot at the enemy.

 “No, Scott!” Jean yanked down Scott’s arm and began to force him to run the other way. “If we fight, we’ll be knocked out soon enough. If we run we have a chance.” With a nod, Scott ran beside Jean, glancing back all the while to make sure the others were keeping up and ready to push Jean aside in case of another volley. Whoever these men were, they weren’t going to get one of his teammates without a fight.

 Kurt was running near Logan when the shooting first began. He had gotten down on all fours and begun to run, figuring he’d be a harder target crouched low to the ground, jumping from time to time over a fallen branch and nearly once wiping out on a pile of slick leaves. Hanging back with Logan, he figured if anyone went down, he could teleport them to the X-jet and then quickly port back in case anyone else needed his skills. He couldn’t take them all to the X-jet, not without passing out after having already done so many ports, particularly sidealong ports, today. He’d just save his energy for when someone needed it. He stole a glance at Logan to check on him and was startled to see a dart sticking out of his shoulder.

 Logan looked askance at him, “Don’t worry about it, Elf. It’s gonna take more than one of these to bring me down.”

 “Ja, I know and so do those men behind us,” Kurt worriedly said, but continued to run without breaking stride.

 Logan could only grimace in reply, now even more worried if the hunters had gathered that much information on him.

 Just up ahead, Evan was simultaneously running and throwing back spikes towards their assailants. Whenever he heard a cry of pain behind him, he’d pump his fist, and renew his efforts with vigor. Hopefully, his efforts would gain them some time and let them all get away. Right, now for the big guns. He flexed his right arm and extracted an extra big spike. With a devilish grin, he used his momentum to turn around and fling the spike back at the gunmen. The group running behind him all scattered, but his extra flamboyance caught the eye of the leader who was following Scott, hoping to take down the mutants’ leader. With a brief pause, the leader changed aim towards Evan and fired. Evan, too busy celebrating his small victory and making another spike, was unaware of the danger.

 

“Fuck,” Logan said as he saw Evan slow down to throw his spikes, knowing that Evan was setting himself up as an easy target. _Fucking idiot kids. When he said run, he meant run and nothing else._ He changed his course towards Evan, but knew he’d never make it in time. Luckily, Kurt also saw Evan’s display and being faster than Logan, bounded over to Evan and was able to push him down just as the leader fired.

 “Shit man,” Evan shouted as he pushed himself out from underneath Nightcrawler, “what you’d do that for?”

 No response.

 “No,” Evan’s eyes widened as they spied the dart in Kurt’s bicep, the dart meant for him. Evan tried shaking Kurt but to no avail. The tranq had quickly taken effect with the aid of Kurt’s higher metabolism.

 “Get going,” Logan told Evan as he ran up to the pair. He knelt down next to Kurt, picking him up in his arms. Evan just stood there, still staring at the dart in Kurt’s arm. “I said get going NOW!” Logan yelled at Evan as he began to run again at a slower pace with Kurt weighing him down.

 “I gotta be able to help!” Evan could feel his previous elation on scaring the hunters give way to fear as he resumed running next to Logan.

 “You can help by not getting captured. Now move your ass and go!” Evan reluctantly started running faster, and after one final glance back, he took off after Kitty and Rogue who were the farthest ahead, not having to dodge the forest obstacles.

 Logan, though, was having problems. He couldn’t dodge well with Kurt in his arms but he’d be damned if he’d leave the kid behind. His broad back painted a wide target, and he felt two more darts strike. His vision was swimming now, and he had to focus all his concentration on putting one foot in front of the other and to holding onto Kurt. Dammit, he wasn’t going to get captured again and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let one of his students get captured.

  _Thud. Thud. Thud._

Three more darts, two on his thighs, and one in his butt. _Great_. He hoped he wasn’t allergic to these darts. He’d like to sit down without anyone questioning him on hemorrhoids.

 Funny, the ground looked closer than he thought it was. It was spinning too. Really fast. He hoped he didn’t throw up. He doubted if Kurt would really like to know what he ate for breakfast up close and personal. _Fuck, he wasn’t -_.

 The earth felt cool and refreshing on his face, though for some reason, his arm felt fuzzy and warm. _Dammit, fuck_. Oh, he was on top of Kurt, his arm lying across Kurt’s. Everything seemed slow to him and then grey, and then black. _He had failed._ And then, nothing.

 XXXXXXXXXX

 

Rogue and Kitty burst throw the edge of the forest and made their way over to the X-jet, still holding tightly onto each other.

 “Keys! We don’t have the key fob!” Rogue turned to Kitty who was still keeping them both phased, but was obviously tiring.

 “I’ll just phase through.”

 “You could short something out!”

 “I’ll be extra careful. We don’t have any other choice.” Kitty let go of Rogue and went up to the side of the jet that she thought would have the least amount of important wiring, and with a sharp inhale, phased through.

 Rogue impatiently waited outside, turning her head back and forth, watching the forest for the others and towards the jet, waiting for Kitty to open the door. She had no idea how the others were doing cause Kitty and her had made a flat dash to the X-jet, hoping to at least get it prepped for flight. A noise from the forest caught her attention, and she anxiously stared at the trees, her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

 From the forest Evan burst through, running at full speed towards Rogue. Relieved, Rogue waved him over, and just as he arrived the jet’s door finally opened. With excitement and hope, Rogue and Evan quickly climbed up as Kitty revved up the engines. All they could do was wait for the others.

 So they waited. Rogue tapped her foot and crossed her arms as she stood just inside the jet as her eyes scanned the forest. Next to her, Evan was nervously fiddling with a small spike in his hands as he kept his eyes trained on where he had exited the forest.

 Then a figure came out of the forest. And then another and another.

 “They’re the men that are after us,” Evan breathlessly said, hand clenching tightly on the spike. “What about the others?”

 “Well, maybe they took a different route,” Rouge clutched at the side of the jet, belying the calm in her voice. The men were almost upon them. “We have to go.”

 “And leave the others! No way, man, that’s just wrong.”

 “And get all captured together? If we leave now we can get them later,” Rogue spun quickly into the cabin and told Kitty to take off immediately.

 “Where’s everyone else?” Kitty asked from the pilot’s seat.

 “We get them later.” Rogue’s voice broke a bit, but her resolve was firm. “Now close the door and get us outta here!”

 Kitty flick a lever and the door swooshed closed. She then turned towards Rogue. “We aren’t leaving.”

 “The men are _right outside_ the jet. We can’t even get out ourselves to go rescue the others!” Rogue wanted to strangle Kitty, wanted Kitty to see the reality she saw, but also wanted to rush out the door herself and take all the men down and get her friends back. If she had Pietro’s speed, she could run out and touch each man and laugh as they collapsed at her feet.

 “I get it! Like, I know we gotta get out of here, but I can’t fly this, you can’t fly it, and neither can Evan!” Kitty exclaimed. Everyone’s worries were eating at each other, making them lose their cool and snap at each other. The thudding of tranqs, or maybe bullets this time, against the hull of the X-jet wasn’t helping their nerves any. “In case you didn’t notice, Kurt, Scott and Logan, the only three that know how to fly, aren’t here!”

 “Well why haven’t you learned, Miss Know-It-All. Then maybe we could get outta here!” _No, not strangle her_ , Rogue thought, _no, rip her guts out and stomp on them_.

 “Miss Know-It-All!?” Kitty shrieked. “I’ll tell you – “

 “Whoa, whoa, guys,” Evan placated, “this isn’t helping us.”

 “Shut up, Evan.” Both girls growled at him.

 Normally, Evan would let them carry on, but right now was not a normal situation.

 “No, you shut it, both of you!” Evan boomed. After making sure they were going to keep quiet, Evan continued, “we’re all stressed and worried, but arguing isn’t going to solve our problems!” After a second, the girls backed down from each other.

 “He’s right,” Rogue agreed. “Sorry, Kitty.”

 “Yeah, sorry Rogue.”

 “Good, know that we’ve all made up, what’s the plan?” Evan asked.

 “You were going so well there for a minute, Evan, what happened?” Rogue teased, trying to lighten the tension.

 “Must’ve been channeling Scott there. I’m all out of my brilliant idea of the day.”

 “Well,” Kitty went up to the cockpit and pressed a red button, “this should send a signal to Professor X, so he should be able to track our location.”

 “What about a radio? Shouldn’t this jet have a radio?” Evan asked.

 “That is the radio,” Kitty replied. “As soon as the Professor hears the signal, he can make contact with us.”

 “Then we just sit tight and wait then,” Rogue sighed as she collapsed back into one of the seats. The sound of bullets had stopped, but Rogue was sure those men were probably setting up camp for the night, not prepared to leave their prey. It was almost dinner time anyways and the men probably thought they could starve them out. Ha, she wasn't coming out even if there was a big juicy country fried steak outside with a side of mashed potatoes. _Okay, no more thoughts of food._

 “Yeah,” Kitty answered, “just wait.” She looked out the front window and could see the fires of the men, but all she could think about was what was happening with the rest of her friends.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The Danger Room in the comics is pretty much like a holodeck, but it seemed in the show it was always the same room with gadgets flying at them. Maybe Xav's hadn't gotten around to modifying it yet.
> 
> -Nagetier, which Kurt yells at the squirrel, means rodent.
> 
> -I can't remember if Evan, Rogue or Kitty can fly the plane, but in this story they don't or haven't learned yet.


	2. The One Where Everyone Wants to Puke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A training exercise crashed by a group of mercenaries leads to capture and to a dilapidated building hiding a sinister secret. Their failure as a team causes the X-men to question themselves, each other, their abilities, and their humanity.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Ugh, he felt sick. Woozy and slightly nauseous. His head slightly knocking against what felt like metal wasn’t helping either. _Ba thump, ba thump thump, ba thump._ He really didn’t want to open his eyes, but he had to check to see if Jean had gotten away somehow. With a slight squint, he let his eyes adjust to the light before opening them fully.

 Oh, so that’s why his head now had a pounding headache to match his churning stomach. He was in the back of a van of some sort, and the road must’ve been rough because with each thump his head would bang against the wall it was resting against. He could see in front of him were four of the men that had hunted them and a fifth one, the leader from his dress Scott guessed, sitting in the middle of the bench directly across from him. A sixth man with a baby face was leaning against the back door, smiling like he just won the lottery. The men were being jostled just as much as he was, and he saw the standing one almost lose his balance. They must still be in the forest for the road to be so bumpy. Not helping his stomach. _Okay, don’t concentrate on that or the bile rising up your thro – stop. Think of something else. Oh yeah, Jean, right._

 A quiet groan next to him caught his attention, and he found himself looking down at the object of his thoughts. _Damn, so she didn’t escape._ She was sitting on the same bench as him, leaning her head back against the side of the van with a slight green look on her face, eyes blinking as they adjusted. He tried to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, but discovered his hands were manacled behind his back. _Okay, slow on the uptake there, Scott. Those tranqs really did a number on me._

 Looking back over at Jean again, he let her revive a bit more, and instead took in her appearance to ascertain she didn’t suffer any physical harm from these brutes. He didn’t see any bruises or anything else, but there was something around her neck. Scott didn’t think Jean wore a chocker, and if she did, it would probably have a daisy or some other girly thing decorating it. Instead, the collar around her neck was a cold grey metal with no discernable openings or joints he could see.

 “Jean?” Scott asked in an undertone as soon as he saw her green eyes flicker towards him.

 “Scott!” Jean whispered back, surprised to find herself waking up next to him, but then quickly closed her mouth afraid if she kept it open Scott would find a warm surprise all up and down his shirt. She’d take the dizziness over the queasiness any day.

 “I’m so, so sorry, Jean,” Scott apologized while keeping an eye out at the hunters to make sure they didn’t suddenly take interest in them. “If I hadn’t – “

 “Scott, no time for self-recriminations now,” Jean jerked her head towards their guards, then immediately regretted the action when it just made her nausea worse, “we need Leader Scott right now, not Emo Scott.” Seeing Scott look sheepish, she let loose a small grin. Right now, they needed to keep their spirits up and had no time to wonder what they could have or should have done, but what to do now.

 Having prevented Scott’s self-inflicted downward spiral, she decided to take a closer look at their situation, and to see if there was any way out of this mess. Next to her left Logan was sitting, learning forward slightly with a snarl on his face, his hands, like hers and Scott’s, shackled in large manacles, reaching all the way from his wrists to almost his elbows. It seemed that Logan had been awake for awhile and was trying to put the men in as much fear as possible by just glaring them to death. If glares were daggers, these men would be Swiss cheese or Evan’s favorite battered and holey T-shirt. Logan didn’t seem to mind that on his other side Kurt was leaning on him, still passed out from the tranqs but fortunately, still inducered. Thank heavens for small miracles. Kurt’s hands were obviously not bound, as Jean could see one lying atop Logan’s thigh. She wondered why he was the only one unshackled but then scoffed. Well, if they thought silly manacles were going to stop Jean Grey, then they had a long way to go before coming close to her. She’d simply use her telekinesis to get the guns away from the men first.

 Nothing happened. Nothing, nada, zilch. This had never happened before.

 With a slack-jawed look on her face, Jean turned to Scott, “Scott, I can’t –“ Still flustered Jean shook her head, “I can’t use my powers.”

 “That’s what these collars must be for,” Scott answered distractedly, having scanned the van himself now, and was a little concerned that Kurt was still out from the tranqs. One time he had told Kurt to drink some Nyquil to get rid of a small cold that had Kurt teleporting with each sneeze. He could still could remember the frantic worry and cold guilt as Kurt slept straight for 3 days. Not even a tap dancing reluctant Rogue and bubbly Kitty could wake him. He really hoped the tranquillizers wouldn’t have the same effect. Scott could already feel guilt creeping up on him over this situation, even though he knew he couldn’t have prevented them from getting captured. _Remember, Leader Scott, not Emo Scott. Thanks, Jean._ Ridding himself of these thoughts, he turned his focus back to Jean. “Though these men didn’t remove my glasses,” Scott wondered.

 “Maybe they didn’t want to test and see if the collar was full proof on you by removing your glasses and getting blasted,” Jean suggested. She’d pay money to see that.

 “Or maybe we thought he just looked better in them, little lady,” the leader was staring in her direction, his eyes the color of a placid lake and just as still and emotionless.

 “So these collars do block our powers then,” Jean wasn’t going to cower in front of him but instead did her best to look down at the man in front of her. She’d take him on, even if she really did have two hands tied behind her back.

 “That’s right, my dear,” the leader grinned at her. His smile reminded her of a snake. “The good, old doctor finally perfected them and made our job that much easier.”

 “And what is your job, bub?” Logan growled at him, the fury at being captured along with his students barely being held back. “And who is this doctor?” The other men, startled by his interruption, all cocked their guns and trained them on him.

The leader waved the men off before answering, “Ah ahn. Do you really think I’d tell you all the details.” The leader reclined back and took out a hunting knife from a sheath on his belt. “All you need to know is I hunted you down and captured you like the animals you are.” The leader began to pick his teeth with the hunting knife, turning his attention away from a conversation he deemed irrelevant. One such as himself didn’t talk to animals after all.

Logan wanted nothing more than to kick this guy in the head, but knew he’d be down in no time from a chest full of tranquillizer. He also couldn’t leave the kids alone now and he wouldn’t be setting a good example by doing something so rash and foolish. _Damn_. _What in the hell was he supposed to do?_

Leaning a bit back, Logan could feel it when Kurt woke up, a slight tensing in Kurt’s shoulders, before a relaxing. Logan grinned to himself, glad that Kurt was wise enough to continue to pretend sleeping. Logan had already spotted the keys hanging by the standing, young recruit right by the van’s double doors, and he’d bet that Kurt noticed them too. They had a chance now, a small chance, but he’d take anything he got. With a nudge, acting as if he was stretching his muscles, he shook Kurt off his shoulder, and watched as Kurt pretended to fall to the other side and lean against the wall. Now for a little distraction.

“Looks like you failed at your job then, if you could only capture us,” Logan snorted as if he thought them all a big joke. “Looks like maybe this doctor oughta think of hiring new muscle men.”

“Oh yeah? Well looks to me like we got you good!” the young man leaning against the doors of the van eagerly pointed out. “Like shooting womp rats in a T-sixteen!”*

The leader sighed and shook his head. Why was the green recruit, who was obviously obsessed with Star Wars, in the same van as him? Waiving the man down, he resheathed his knife then shifted his eyes to Logan. “It’s just a matter of time before we have the others. I believe I already sent someone with the key fob to that plane of yours where they’re holed up.” The leader smirked at how red the burly man’s face turned before continuing, “riffling through pockets is child’s play. Only an untrained buffoon would let the keys to their only escape fall into the enemy’s hands.”

Logan was furious at the heartless man and worried about the others now too, but this was also a perfect opportunity to cause a diversion and to capture the undivided attention of each hunter. With a roar and a loud, “You fucking bastard,” _hopefully that ain’t too over the top_ ¸ Logan sprung off the bench and shouldered into the leader.

While Logan was talking to the leader, Kurt took the opportunity to use his feigned sleep to reaffirm what he had seen when he had briefly opened his eyes when he woke up. Yes, there were the keys he had spied earlier, hanging on the other side of the back doors of the van they were in. Quickly closing his eyes again, he hoped the keys were to the collar around his neck that he could feel. The collar was uncomfortable against his fur, making it stick out every which way and he could feel some of his fur trapped into where the collar must close. At least the men probably didn’t realize they had trapped his fur, seeing that he was still inducered. The collar was also probably what was preventing him from teleporting, that being the first thing he tried to do upon waking. Though, he really didn’t want to find out how he would feel after porting with a bulky Wolverine as his passenger and with the sickly feeling he felt immediately upon waking. He’d probably be seeing the stack of pancakes in mush form he had for brunch that day. _While as delicious as Frau Monroe’s cooking is, I’d rather not have seconds right now._

Pushing those thoughts aside, he slit one eye open as his tail silently slithered against the back doors, slowly making its way behind the recruit who was engaged in Logan’s conversation, and towards the prize. No way would his tail reach that far, but just as he was about to make a desperate lunge forward and reveal his wakefulness, Logan bellowed out and ran straight at the leader _._ As all the men were trying to push Logan down, Kurt swiftly got up and grabbed the keys with his tail and transferred them to his hands.

_Alright, I rock!_ was Kurt’s only thought before he crashed down to the ground, feeling as if his head was going to split open.

 The leader wasn’t so stupid as to miss that the Wolverine’s reaction was really to conceal something else. He absorbed the mutant’s blow and immediately shoved him off of himself to scan what the other captives were up to. The boy and girl near him were just as in shock over their mentor’s unexpected reaction as his men were. But the other kid, the foreign kid who had been asleep this whole time, now had the keys in his hands and was about to undue his collar. With a speed and agility belying his age, the leader jumped over his men restraining the Wolverine on the ground and brought the butt of the gun hard against the temple of the surprised kid, causing him to drop to the ground as well as lose his hold on the keys.

“Kurt!” Scott stood up, not sure what he was going to do, but he wasn’t going to just sit by while his friend was injured. At first he was surprised at Logan’s charge, and things had happened so fast, but now he was ready to run over to Kurt, making sure to kick each of the goon’s head in for good measure. Jean had also stood up, already about to launch herself into the fray.

Don’t anyone move,” the leader threatened. He was kneeling beside the downed teen, raising Kurt’s head as he clenched the kid’s hair in his hand, his other hand gesturing with his gun at Kurt. The kid was glaring up at him in anger and in obvious pain. _So the little bastard was still defiant? The professor will break him and put him in his place. Fucking animals._

“B-b-but leader,” one of his men was now pointing towards him with a shaking hand, “that kid, we don’t know what he does. You told us not to touch him!” The man was slowly backing away until his back hit the front wall of the van, “you’re touching hi-hi-his hair.”

How he ended up with all the worthless troopers was beyond the leader. “I am fine, as you can see,” the leader pulled harder on Kurt’s hair, eliciting a quiet whine of pain, and put the barrel of the gun against his temple again, “now I want you all to take a seat and obey me like the good little animals you are.”

Suddenly, the leader found himself under attack a second time that day, but this time from an unknown assailant. _Was that Rogue girl’s power invisibility?_ The leader thought as he crashed to the floor.

Kurt, however, was not surprised at all since it was his tail that had wrapped around the leader and had pulled him hard down to the floor. All the men were too stunned by their leader’s fall to react, and taking advantage of this, Kurt wasted no time at all and lunged for the keys that were just out of reach.

 Scott, revitalized by Kurt’s attack, rushed towards the nearest man and kicked the man hard in the shins. With a cry, the man fell down and Scott continued to kick him to keep him from reaching for his gun. Scott was already formulating their escape in his head, imagining brushing aside Jean’s soft, red hair as he undid her collar, seeing the admiring look in her eyes as he bound each man up and took charge of their escape.

 Logan, proud of Kurt, threw off the two men that were on top of him and bit one of them in the leg, drawing blood through the cloth. They’d beat these fuckers yet and Logan would be sure to pay them back tenfold for the pain they’d put him and his students through. Nobody fucked with Wolverine’s family and got away with it.

 Jean wasn’t sitting idly by as the others stirred up a ruckus. _Well, even if she couldn’t use her telepathy, she could still use her head_ ,Jean thought as she headbutted the guard nearest to her. The guard, dazed, slowly slid down the van wall. But, before she could turn to the next guard that was next to Logan, the leader let out a loud roar, which drew her attention back to him.

 “Now, let’s try this again,” the leader once again had Kurt by the hair, and was now straddling him to prevent any movement. Though the green recruit was young and had a strange … passion, he had made it on the team for a reason, which he had proven when he was the first to regain his senses and struck the foreign kid again across the head with his gun. The leader had by then recovered and had pinned the dazed mutant underneath him. He still couldn’t figure out how he was attacked, but he bet it had to do with the kid beneath him. “Sit down right now,” the leader commanded in a tone, while calm and even, brooked no argument.

 Logan, growling at the leader for his abuse of Kurt, but seeing no choice in the matter, nodded to the others before sitting down. How could he have dismissed that hunter even if he did look young? Now the Elf was going to have to pay for his mistake.

The leader, satisfied now that the muties had complied, decided to deal with the source of the problem. Looking to the back, the leader spotted a reliable looking trooper, “Gershwin -”

“Sir!” The man called Gershwin saluted.

 “Take the keys there and pass them through to the front cab!”

 “Yessir! Sir!” The trooper double saluted before stomping one foot down and marching over to pick up the keys. With a pivot on his foot the most seasoned London guard would envy, Gershwin marched to the back, slid open the small gap in the back panel of the van and handed over the keys to the passenger before closing the slit. Executing another perfect turn and stomping his boot down one last time, Gershwin saluted a final time and with a “sir!” fell into a ready stance.

 A bit overzealous, and it’s not as if they were actual military, but the leader couldn’t complain. It was a stupid mistake on his part to keep the keys near his trapped prey, but the leader would not underestimate his captives or succumb to arrogance again.

 Seeing this military display did rouse another less experienced and easily excitable guard. “As easy as bringing down an Imperial AT-AT with a tow cable!” The same old green trooper stepped forward a bit, bringing his tranquillizer gun up, trying to be just as professional – keyword trying - to intimidate the others.

 The leader felt he could just hit his head against a wall right now, but simply said, “Recruit, enough.” With a nod, the recruit took two steps back before _crunch._

Kurt winced more out of shock than pain as his watch and hand were stepped on and he saw his image flicker for a second from his inducer form to his true, blue self. _Maybe no one had noticed?_ Kurt hoped. _Ja, and maybe they’ll think I’m just cookie monster’s demonic cousin…even if I do like cookies._

 “Oh, oops, sorry,” the recruit apologized before stepping aside. It seemed that luck was on Kurt’s side because the trooper hadn’t seen his true form and neither, it seemed, had the other men as they were all reacting in the most non-reactionary manner possible, focused still on the reseated Logan. His friends had obviously seen since they were looking probably just as shocked as he was and were glancing at each other and their captors nervously.

 The one person Kurt couldn’t see the reaction of was the leader, who was indeed shocked at what he briefly saw flash before him. Recovering quickly thanks to his experience, the leader grinned sinisterly and addressed the young trooper next to him, “Recruit, I think it’s time for this mutie to know his place.”

 “Sir?”

 “Just do what you just did again,” the leader commanded.

 “Um, I. Sir?”

 “I want you to take your boot and crush down on,” the leader gestured to Kurt by pulling on his hair, “this mutant’s wrist.”

 With his announcement, Kurt began to squirm in earnest and moved his outstretched hand closer to his body. He’d rather not have his wrist crushed or have himself revealed.

 Having none of that, the leader pulled on Kurt’s hair and pressed his handgun harder against his head, causing him to wince and stop moving. The leader bent down and breathed into his ear in a low voice, “You move that hand anymore and I’ll put a bullet not only in your head, but in each of your friends’ heads too.” Unsure whether the leader was bluffing or not, but unwilling to take the chance, Kurt could only stop moving and laid as still as possible, waiting with bated breath for the inevitable outcome of what was about to happen. He looked to his friends for support and saw the same fear and hopelessness in their eyes as well.

The leader turned to the rest of his men and his prisoners. “This mutie has twice tried to escape. I won’t allow any disobedience and any _hint_ of an attempt to escape is to be punished,” his voice lowered, “severely.” With a nod to the recruit, the leader loosened his hold on the teen’s hair and watched as the recruit took a timid step forward. “Now,” the leader demanded.

 “Like stomping on a Killik,” the recruit grinned before stepping forward with renewed vigor and brought his boot hard down on Kurt’s wrist.

 One stomp was enough and Kurt cringed in pain from his now bruised wrist as his watch died and his fuzzy self was exposed.

 With a cry of shock, the green recruit rapidly back peddled and began to blubber a bit before forming the word, “demon!” Some of the other men weren’t faring much better. The stutterer could barely get out his cry of “S-S-Satan!”

 The leader sighed with chagrin. _Did only the whackjobs apply for this assignment or what?_ But, at least it stopped the recruit from making any Star Wars reference. A hysterical trooper is a small price to pay for a relief from that…though not when all were in hysterics.

 Kurt felt like he could crawl into a hole, pull the earth over his head and just die. _At least they haven’t tried to throw holy water on me or burn me at the stake, that’s an improvement,_ Kurt thoughtwith cynical cheer. He hated having to show himself to people. He always had to deal with the cries of _demon_ or _what is that thing_ and the like. Each time it felt as if a knife had been plunged into his heart and twisted, but it wasn’t just the words thrown that tore him apart, but also the staggering fear of how people would physically react.

 His best reaction to his appearance, besides Logan, the Professor and Jean (who he assumed was already aware of his appearance telepathically so she really didn’t count), was Scott, and even he had been shocked and uncomfortable around him for a week. Evan had even tried to stake him! Though, he did admit that he had bamfed into a dark room unaware of Evan even joining the Xavier Institute. Evan had gotten a brief look of sharp fangs, cried out “vampire!” before trying to stake him through the heart with a spike. Ororo had come running in and turned on the lights, causing Evan to scream again “demon!”, raise his glass of water to the ceiling, and with a fervent pray of “Jesus, bless my water,” threw the contents at Kurt. Kurt, wet, peeved, and embarrassed, couldn’t believe it when he heard Ms. Monroe struggle to regain control of her laughter before introducing them.

The worst reaction he ever received, though, was something he tried not to think about at all, if ever. He believed only the Professor, his parents, and Logan knew about it, and he’d like to keep it that way.

 Now that his friends had gotten used to his appearance, it wasn’t so bad, but he still could never forget how different he was or what special precautions he had to take. Sometimes he even, well, not liked, but didn’t mind his blue fur, yellow eyes, or pointed ears, but other and most times he’d rather just wear his inducer. If not for the encouragement from the Professor, he might’ve done just that. It was at times like this he wish he did look like his inducer, though he’d like to keep his tail. He was quite fond of it.

 A cry to “throw it out the truck!” shook Kurt out of his thoughts. His friends had gotten up again and were trying to muscle their way to him. He was still pinned down by the leader who was looking at his tail with a look of dawning comprehension on his face.

 “You throw my student out, you fucker, and you’ll be the next to follow, bub,” Logan threatened, looking ready to tear out the guy’s heart with his teeth.

 “Need I remind you who has a gun pointed to your student right now?” The leader said, a sly look in his eyes, causing Logan and the others to sit back down.

 “Sir, what are y-y-you g-g-gonna do with it?” the frightened stutterer questioned, pointing with a shaking hand once again at Kurt.

 “He is a mutant, and is thus part of our job to deliver him to the professor,” the leader responded as patiently as he could.

 “W-w-well, I’m not touching it!”

 “Fine,” the leader would have to get rid of that guy later on, a permanent retirement of course. Frightened fools who couldn’t do their job were of no use to him. “And now for you,” the leader turned to Kurt, “is this, your… deformation, your mutant power then?”

 Kurt really didn’t want to answer him, but another tug on his hair reminded him just who was in the position of power. “Ja,” Kurt closed his eyes, hoping he could just reopen them again and it’d all be just some horrific nightmare.

 “You better not be lying to me,” the leader threatened and then in one motion, stood up off of Kurt while also grabbing a hold of Kurt’s shirt, bringing him up with him. With a flourish, he took out a pair of small handcuffs he had on his belt, roughly grabbed Kurt’s arms and cuffed them in front of him. These would have to do for now, but later they’d put on the big manacles.

 With a last look up and down Kurt, the leader shoved Kurt into the vacant spot next to Logan. “Fucking animal.”

 Kurt fell back into his seat, banging his head against the wall. He looked down at his hands, wincing at the pain the rough cuffing had caused his abused wrist. With a quiet sigh, he scooted closer to Logan, needing any sort of comfort or reassurance even if it was from the generally gruff man.

 Logan heard Kurt whisper a small “scheisse,” but let him get away with it considering the situation. Logan was still seething in anger over what the leader had just put Kurt through, but he had not outlet for it and Kurt didn’t need his righteous anger right now. He’d never admit it later, but Logan leaned into Kurt, trying to give as much support as possible even if he couldn’t put his arms around him.

 After several more minutes, the van came to a halt and Logan could hear the driver and passenger in the cab get out and make their way to the back. The back doors were opened and the early evening full moon flooded the interior. They were still in the forest, but Logan couldn’t tell where exactly yet.

 “Grab them and move out!” The leader ordered. The leader noticed with little shock that it was the young recruit who had been the one brave enough to grab the demon mutant.

 “If Luke can handle the creatures of the Degoba, then I can face you!” Kurt resisted the urge to strangle the hunter with his tail to prevent him from cracking one more Star Wars reference. He figured, by the twitching of the leader’s eye that no one else would really mind anyway. It was only a distracting thought to keep his mind from what had just happened in the van and from what would happen in the abandoned building they were being frogmarched to.

 Logan recognized the building as the one he saw when he scouted out the forest before choosing it as an exercising ground. The building, maybe once a private research facility, looked like it had been abandoned for years, but obviously as they approached it, its appearance hid a darker truth. Logan could only hope that they all survived this better than he did the Weapon X facility. He would do his best to try and take the brunt of whatever laid ahead, and give the others the courage and will to survive. They’d need it.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took out some of my original Star Wars references as they were probably over the top. I probably kept too many in, but aw well.
> 
> * The Star Wars references – I use mostly the original three films for references. I did have to use Google for the specifics, so if you know where all the references come from, I’m impressed.
> 
> 1) “Like shooting womp rats in a T-sixteen!” - Return  
> 2) “As easy as bringing down an Imperial AT-AT with a tow cable!” - From Empire.  
> 4) “If Luke can handle the creatures of the Degoba, then I can face you!” – from Empire.  
> 5) I added in a reference to Killik – some bug race. I looked up Star Wars bug creature as I figured the young recruit would compare stomping down as to crushing a bug. I think the Killik is only found in the books.


	3. The Lucky Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A training exercise crashed by a group of mercenaries leads to capture and to a dilapidated building hiding a sinister secret. Their failure as a team causes the X-men to question themselves, each other, their abilities, and their humanity.

** Retrieval of Self: Chapter 3 **

 

 Evan was sitting in one of the X-jet’s chairs, his hand still clutching onto the small spike he had formed earlier. Evan knew he wasn’t patient, but this type of waiting was the worst. There was a tension in the air from the knowledge that a group of armed men were just outside, and the only thing protecting them from the men was a door, thick and solid though it may be. There was also fear and guilt hanging like a heavy cloud - fear for the others and where they might be now and fear that they might be captured too, and guilt for having gotten away, leaving the others behind for the men to capture.

 Evan threw the spike up in the air and watched it arc before catching it in his other hand. He especially felt responsible for Kurt and Logan’s capture. If he hadn’t been trying to show off and frighten the hunters, if he had only just followed Logan’s order to run, then maybe Kurt wouldn’t have pushed him to save him, then maybe Logan wouldn’t have had to carry Kurt and become an easy target. Evan resisted the urge to throw the spike into the wall in frustration, and instead threw the spike up again and swiftly caught it in his hand, clenching it tightly to release some of his pent up anger.

 “Damn it!”

 Kitty glanced back at Evan, but didn’t reply. They were all feeling the same.

 Rogue, sitting near Evan, legs and arms crossed, one foot kicking in impatience, also remained silent. She was staring hard at the cockpit, hoping that if she stared hard enough the Professor would answer faster.

 Rogue wouldn’t consider herself an optimist, but she couldn’t help but feel that the Professor could fix almost any wrong. He had that aura to him of being wise and a mentor that she could rely on, even if it did take her awhile to see it. He’d be able to get them out of this mess, find the others, and have everyone back at the Mansion in time for cocoa. Logan would grumble about drinking the sweet drink, but would still have a small smile on his face after he washed it down. Kurt would be sure that everyone had two large marshmallows in their hot beverage, after all he always said, “drinking hot chocolate without marshmallows is like showering with no soap – pointless!” or something in a similar, weird vain. Scott, of course, would try to look on as if he was too old to partake in adding the fluffy treats to his drink, but would always accept the marshmallows, and then would not so secretly steal glances at Jean as she swallowed down the sweet concoction with a look of deep satisfaction. Jean had an affinity for chocolate, and had a secret stash of chocolate hidden in her room that she once shared with Rogue. Rogue could tell, though, that cocoa time was Jean’s favorite way to enjoy chocolate - with others. Rogue felt a small smile creep onto her face as she thought about the missing others, but was startled out of her thoughts from a crackling on the X-jet’s radio.

 “Logan? Scott? Are you there?”

 Kitty, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, practically jumped out of her chair at the sound of the Professor’s voice. “Professor? Professor, we’re here and these men are outside and they have guns and they’ve chased us and -”

 “Kitty,” Professor Xavier interrupted, “first, calm down. I have already sent Storm out ahead, and Hank and I are in the X-van on our way to your location. Now then, tell me what is happening.”

 Kitty felt a bit relieved now that help was on its way, and took a deep breath before replying, “Okay, I’m calm now.” The others had rushed up to the cockpit as soon as they heard the Professor, and Evan now rested his hand on Kitty’s shoulder, lending Kitty support. Kitty sent a grateful look towards him before continuing.

 “There are men after us in the forest where we were training. They had tranquilizer guns and have already captured Logan, Kurt, Scott, and Jean.” Kitty’s voice trembled a bit as she named her friends. “Me, Rogue, and Evan are in the X-jet, but none of us can fly! The men are all outside but we’ve closed the door so they can’t get in. What should we do Professor!” Kitty sped up at the end, her panic at their situation taking control again. She could hear a clamoring outside again, and she hoped that the men were just growing restless from waiting them out.

 “Storm will be there soon as will Hank and I. Just be sure to -”

 “Oh my god.” Rogue had a look of dawning horror on her face, her hands raised to her mouth and her eyes wide.

 “What? What is it?” Evan questioned, his own fear mounting as he felt Rogue’s rise and as he heard the hunters’ voices grow louder outside.

 “The key! I don’t have the key fob and you didn’t either Kitty, and Logan sure wouldn’t have given Evan the key.”

 “Hey!” Evan protested.

 “That’s why they’re all excited outside! They got the key from the others!” Kitty exclaimed, looking from Evan to Rogue to see if they had any bright ideas on what to do.

 “Children! Calm down, please,” the Professor’s voice once again interrupted them, trying to settle down the X-teens’ nerves so they could deal with the situation reasonably and not act in any rash and unplanned manner. “Kitty, I want you to keep your hand on the lever controlling the door. Make sure that whenever you see the door move even an inch, to flick that lever to make the door close again.”

 Kitty nodded, realized the Professor couldn’t see her, and then responded determinedly, “right.”

 “Evan, Rogue,” Professor X continued on in advising his students, “stand guard at the door and don’t let anyone through. Engage them in close combat to prevent them from using their guns.”

 “Professor, can’t you just use your mind to stop these men?” Evan asked, uncertainty wavering in his voice.

 “Unfortunately, Evan, even I don’t have the power to reach that far without the aid of Cerebro. Storm will be there soon and soon after so will we,” the Professor reassured. “I know you can work together and protect each other. I’ll be there soon.” The radio crackled to silence.

 Evan, bolstered by the Professor’s encouragement, walked over to the door, forming another spike to have handy to use.

Kitty stood ready in the cockpit, her hand hovering over the lever, waiting for the men to use the key any second. Rogue took off one of her gloves and waived her bare hand in front of Kitty, silently asking for permission. Kitty nodded and with a small touch from finger to finger, Kitty received a small shock as Rogue absorbed some of her powers. Kitty turned back to watching the door, already shaking off the touch.

Rogue, approached Evan and repeated the same process with him. Being armed with both of their powers, even if only for the short time it lasted, would provide her with an extra advantage. Unfortunately, the downside to taking Evan and Kitty’s powers was that now she also had Kitty’s worry and nervousness and Evan’s determination and guilt combining with her already shot nerves. Feeling like a walking time bomb, Rogue did the best she could to suppress the emotions and waiting on the opposite side of the jet’s entrance as Evan, prepared to stop anyone from coming in.

She didn’t have to wait long as she heard a sudden utter silence outside and then the quiet swish of the door beginning to open. Kitty, alert and watchful, immediately switched the lever, the door closing in on the man before he even got a glimpse of the inside of the jet.

It was a straining pressure to wait, and Kitty’s hand trembled over the lever, watching the door for the next attempt. The door once again began to open and she wasted no time in moving the lever. _Swish_. The door closed again.

Kitty had no idea how long she could keep this up, but she felt she’d explode from the nerve wracking wait for the door to open again.

_Swish._ Kitty flicked the lever again, but this time the door didn’t close all the way.

“Kitty, push the lever!” Rogue screamed at her as Evan pulled back a spike covered fist and punched the man in the doorway in the face.

“I did!” Kitty yelled back. “It should’ve closed!” Kitty didn’t know whether to touch the lever again or not. If she moved it and the door had really gotten the signal to close, then her flicking the lever again would just resignal the door to open. She didn’t know what to do and her hand hovered hesitatingly over the switch, eyes glued to the guarded door that still hadn’t closed.

“His gun is blocking the doorway!” Evan was hitting the man with all he could, spikes formed on his fists like brass knuckles, but the hunter was tenacious and well trained, and despite bleeding from numerous wounds, he still wouldn’t let go of the gun he had lodged in the doorway. The other men were now trying to grasp the sides of the door, trying to pry it open.

Rogue hesitated, her hand paused in the middle of reaching out to touch the hunters at the door. She was scared that if she touched anyone else, she would be overwhelmed by all the vying emotions in her head. She wouldn’t be much use, passed out on the floor from emotional overload, but if the men were able to enter the jet, then it wouldn’t really matter. With a determined grimace, she began to reach out to touch the men, when suddenly a huge whirlwind blasted the men away from the door, throwing them several feet away. The door, now released, came to a close in front of her and Evan’s face.

“What happened?” Kitty asked in a bemused tone.

Evan turned quickly to Kitty, a fire in his eyes. “Hurry and open the door! Auntie O is out there now and we gotta help!”

First surprise washed over Kitty’s face, but then relief and resolve quickly followed, and she flicked the lever before rushing out after Rogue and Evan. Outside was chaos. The night sky was completely overcast now, not a star could be seen behind the dark clouds, and lightning lit the area in bright flashes. Kitty could see Storm, eyes aglow, guiding some of the lightning to hit men square in the chest, knocking them far out of her range of sight. The men were forming groups, trying to pose a bigger threat, but every volley of tranquilizer darts they fired was met with a huge gust of wind that sent the darts uselessly scattering.

Standing near her, a few men were gathered, congregating and shooting glances at Storm who was busy attacking others. Kitty figured they must’ve been trying to come up with an ambush, but not with her there. Their guns looked high-tech, and with a quick grin, she phased herself and ran towards them with a loud battle cry. Startled, the men looked up and cried out as they saw a young girl running towards them. It took them a second to realize it was one of the mutants they were after, but it was a second too late. Kitty had barreled right through the men and through the guns they were holding. Some of the men immediately let go of their sparking guns, while others aimed at her and fired, only to get a small puff of smoke in their faces. Kitty turned around and gave her best smile before running off to find more guns to short out.

Evan was dealing out his own damage, throwing spikes this way and that, causing the men to scatter and jump haphazardly to avoid his deadly missiles. Evan had never felt so serious when fighting before, knowing that these men had captured his friends. He was going to make sure the hunters, this time around, felt like scared prey. Spotting his aunt out of the corner of his eye, Evan was momentarily stunned at the huge whirlwind Storm had conjured up, currently sending it towards a group of men running away like the dogs of hell were after them. Preoccupied with her small tornado, Storm wasn’t aware of the other troops who had lined her up in their sights, but Evan was. With a snarled expression so fierce it could cause Logan a run for his money, Evan carefully took aim and quickly threw spike after spike with such precision, each gun was neatly impaled before going on the fritz.

Storm felt a surge of pride well up in her as she saw Evan’s display of fierceness on her behalf. She gave a small nod in his direction before flying low over the ground to where Rogue had just dispatched one of the few men left with a spike thrown to the left then to the right to cut off his path, followed by a phased swipe through his gun. All the other men had by now fled or were unconscious from Storm’s lightning strikes.

“It seems our work here is done,” Storm pleased at their battle, gestured for Rogue to follow her as she went to gather Evan and Kitty. “Now all we must do is wait for the Professor to arrive.”

“Not quite yet, Storm,” Rogue had her eyes on one of the men who was running not towards the woods, but towards the X-jet, the key brandished in his hand. “Seems as if that guy’s gotta eye for stealing what’s ours.” Without a second to lose, both set off at a run towards him, but were quickly halted when they saw the trooper, not a few feet from the door, suddenly freeze and then collapse to the ground.

“Seems as if the Professor has arrived.” Storm walked over to where the man had fallen and plucked the key that was still loosely grasped in his hand. Evan and Kitty had by now joined Rogue and Storm, relief flowing through them now that Storm, Hank, and the Professor were there. Surely the Professor could quickly scan for Logan and the others, they’d show the men what they’re truly made of, and then they could all go home.

 Kitty could imagine Logan grumbling over having to be rescued but he would then smile and offer side hugs, though of course he wouldn’t call them hugs – probably something manly like reassurance holds. He might even let them off of Danger Room runs for a bit. _Ha, yeah right._ Scott would look chagrined at not being able to help, and he’d train relentlessly for the next few weeks to make sure he wouldn’t let himself or the others be captured again. Jean would probably be grateful and look graceful too, like she had just gone for a stroll around the block instead of being a prisoner. Jean always looked beautiful, and she’d probably flash a smile and reassure everyone that their captivity was just like a day at the spa. Kurt would crack some joke to lighten the mood, and he’d have some of the hunters with him as buddies – he could win you over like that somehow, quite a charmer. Kitty blushed a little at that last thought and smiled at her daydream.

  _As I cannot traverse the terrain, I won’t be joining you by your side_ , the Professor’s voice rang in their heads. _However, I advise you all to enter the jet just in case these men return with reinforcements._

 With a nod, Storm led the group into the jet and quickly closed the door behind them. “Can you tell where the others are being held, Charles?”

  _Unfortunately, no. They either must be too far away or blocked from my mind._ Ororo could tell the Professor was truly upset despite the calm façade he was putting in his voice due to the small, frustrated sigh he let escape his mind into theirs. _I shall try to find them with Cerebro when we get back to the mansion, but for now I will see what I can garner from one of the men’s mind._

 Ororo tried to remain composed at that statement, and luckily no one was looking at her face to see the brief flicker of astonishment and worry cross it. The Professor always held that he never went into someone else’s mind unless it was a dire emergency, and for him to do that now, he must think his telepathy was being blocked. What type of people could capture Logan and the other children, and were able to block Charles Xavier, the strongest telepath in the world?

 Charles took a deep breath before relaying his finds. He knew he was on edge now and full of worry, but he didn’t want to transmit those thoughts to the children. They needed him to be strong right now. _It seems all information except for the details on your mutant powers were kept from these men. They are playing this very safe._

 “So, we can’t find them then, Professor?” Kitty’s voice shook with anxiety as her hands twisted the pulls on her pullover.

“Goddamnit!” Evan cursed before throwing a vicious kick at the seat in front of him.

 “Evan!” Ororo reprimanded, but her heart truly wasn’t in it. They were all frustrated. Evan gave her a sheepish look before looking down, drilling a hole in the floor with his stare.

  _Not right now, but we will Kitty. I promise you all, we shall rescue them. For now, we’ll head back to the mansion. Be safe and take care._

Ororo could feel the air thick around her, full of heavy thoughts. They needed to keep their spirits up if they were going to rescue their team members. With an encouraging look towards Evan and Rogue and a strong hand on Kitty’s shoulder, Ororo reiterated what the Professor said. “We will find them. Tomorrow, we’ll come back here and search – ”

 “- let’s go out and search now, then.” Rogue crossed her arms and glared outside, as if her gaze could pierce through the dark night and forest to where the others were being held. The others chimed in with resounding agreement.

 “Yeah, we’re wasting time going back to the mansion when they can’t have been taken far!” Evan began running back to the door, ready to start his hunt.

 “No, come back here Evan,” Ororo ordered firmly. After Evan had rejoined their group, Ororo continued. “Now listen, we can’t start searching for them now. Those men are still out there, and they know the terrain and we don’t. It’s dark and we could easily be split up and captured along with the others.” With a look at each teen, Ororo made sure they understood her before continuing on. “At the mansion the Professor can use Cerebro to help guide us in our search. We can also prepare tonight and we’ll be able to use our time efficiently and affectively tomorrow.”

 “Alright, Auntie-O,” Evan was the first to capitulate, but his unhappiness at their situation showed when he walked heavily over to a seat and plotz into it.

 Rogue silently nodded before making her way to the seat next to Evan. Leaning one elbow on the armrest and resting her chin in her hand, she looked as if she didn’t care one way or another, but her twitching foot kicking the air and her fingers drumming against the other armrest gave away her true feelings.

 “We’ll come back as early as we can, right? As soon as the sun is up?” Kitty asked, one of the pulls of her pullover now unraveling due to her nervous ministrations.

 “Yes, we’ll come back as early as possible tomorrow,” Ororo assured. When Kitty and her were both settled in the cockpit of the X-jet, Ororo prepared to fly back to the mansion, hoping that the Professor was almost back and ready to start searching with Cerebro.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

%MCEPASTEBIN%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.


	4. The Doctor is In

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

  **Retrieval of Self: Chapter 4**

 

They had been dragged down into the recesses of the abandoned research facility through a hidden doorway that lead to a complex underground with sterile white halls. Logan could smell the antiseptic spray oozing past rooms with closed doors as they were lead up and down stairs and through turns and twists, so confusing that he’d never be able to find his way back. However, what their guards didn’t know was that Kurt’s ability to teleport gave him an uncanny sense of direction, and Logan could see that Kurt was paying detailed attention to their meandering path. They might be captured, but they weren’t down yet.

 After what seemed like ages, they were finally led to a room with four cells, two adjacent on each side of the pathway. There were also two doors, one from where they came from and the other directly across. The room looked like the rest of the place, white, stark, and lit brightly. Logan would’ve preferred for their holdings to be dark like a prison cell, and not this reminder of his time at the Weapon X facilities.

 Logan’s arms were quickly unshackled, and then with a rough shove, he was forced into one of the cells. Logan growled at his guard, but all he got in return was “shut it, you fucking animal,” before having the bars slammed shut.

 Scott was similarly released and pushed unceremoniously into the cell cattycorner from Logan.

“What a babe,” the guard guiding Jean to the cell next to Scott said as he released the shackles from her wrists, and then caressed her hair.

“Get your hands off her!” Scott demanded, tightly grasping the bars to his cell in anger.

With a lecherous grin, the man moved to touch Jean’s hair again, but Jean wasn’t going to let him get away with that twice. With a quick twist, she freed herself from his grasp.

“I can walk in on my own, thanks,” Jean said and with a shake of her head, she went calmly into her cell. She shook her head at Scott to prevent him from goading the guard anymore. In return, the guard sneered and banged the cell door shut.

A yelp drew Logan’s attention to Kurt who was being placed next to him.

“Ach, watch the tail, ja?” Kurt curled his tail around to his front and petted it in his hands to make the pain dissipate.

“Oh, sorry,” the young recruit said reflexively before realizing who he was talking to. “Wait! I’m not sorry! Not to a, um, a rebel, no wait those are the good guys,” the recruit muttered under his breath., “a, um– ”

“Mein Gott, not another Star Wars reference.” Kurt said as he was moved into the cell and watched as his flummoxed guard closed the door. The young trooper gaped like a fish before blushing furiously. He locked Kurt’s cell before making a hasty retreat to leave with his fellow guards.

 _Well, at least that shut him up for once._ Logan hoped that Kurt’s banter would discourage the guy from future inane comments, but right now, Logan was more worried about Kurt’s physical shape. His accent was thick, which usually indicated something was amiss, and his temper usually wasn’t so short, even if the young guard did deserve a sharp barb. Looking between the bars separating their cages, Logan studied Kurt as he sat on the floor. Logan wanted to assess what type of shape Kurt was in; he had gotten hit in the head twice by two burly men, not to mention roughened up and his wrist smashed. Logan didn’t want to even think about where Kurt was mentally, or heck, what all of them were thinking right now.

Kurt, noticing Logan’s stare, tried to look a little more lively. “I’m fine, see?” He held up his injured wrist and wiggled his hand as if somehow that would prove his point.

Logan wasn’t convinced at all. Kurt’s “I’m fines” were usually code for “I feel like shit” or at least that’s how Logan translated it in his head. “And I’m sure you don’t have one huge bruise on your temple now, right?”

Kurt just shrugged and looked away, his tail flickering from time to time in annoyance over the attention.

Logan hated when Kurt pulled this shit. Fucking avoidance, as the Professor called it, well without the fucking, but Logan thought it was an apt adjective. Why couldn’t he just say, yes I’m hurt or I’m sick? Though, it’s not like Logan had room to talk, but at least he healed quick enough for it not to be a concern. Knowing he wasn’t going to get anything else out of Kurt, Logan sat down with his back leaning against the back wall so he could keep an eye on his three students. Jean and Scott were sitting next to each other, their hands touching between the bars, and both were looking towards Kurt, appearing at a loss for what to say. Even if they could get Kurt to tell them what’s wrong, it wasn’t as if they could do anything about it.

 With a sigh, Scott turned away from Kurt to face Jean. “The guards better not touch you again, Jean,” Scott said as he took her hand in his.

 “Scott, I won’t let them, but next time don’t react like that.” Jean rested her head against the bars between their cages, while looking reprovingly on at Scott. “Your reaction just eggs them on.”

 “I know,” Scott looked down at their intertwined hands, “it’s just hard to watch and not do anything, to not even _be able_ to do anything.” Scott sighed, “I should be able to do something, right?”

 “There isn’t anything you _can_ do. Not for me or Kurt or any of us. At least, not right now.” Jean shook her head. “When we figure out how to get out of here, then I know you’ll do your best and show those oafs a thing or two.” With a wink, Jean clasped their hands tighter.

 Scott smiled in return, and though it was uncomfortable leaning against the bars, neither of them moved away from each other.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Kurt hated the collar and he hated the cuffs that were still on his wrists. He hated the pounding headache he had, like a construction site was set up in his head, and he hated the throbbing in his tail that now matched his sore wrist. At least his wrists were cuffed in front of him, so he could use his hands to itch and free some of the fur trapped by the metal collar. Most of all, though, he hated that he couldn’t hide from prying eyes. Though they didn’t run across many people as they were marched through the halls, the few they did come across took one glimpse at him stared or ran and hid.

 He had tried falling asleep or at least hoped for some form of unconsciousness to take his mind off of the pain and his self-deprecating thoughts, but the pain and general uncomfortableness just led to various positions from leaning against the wall to lying curled up on the cold cell floor. He was glad that he had fur because even he was freezing, and he couldn’t imagine what Scott and Jean were feeling. Logan never seemed to be affected by temperature. _Maybe his ubiquitous chest hair is like a fur coat?_ Kurt mused.

 For now, Kurt was lying curled up on the ground with his back touching against the back wall. He could see that Jean and Scott had fallen asleep leaning against the cell bars with their hands still in each others. Jean was probably going to have a red streak straight up and down her face from where her cheek was depressed against the bar. Scott would have a matching mark as well as a drool spot on his pants, and they’d probably both wake with cricks in their necks from the way their heads were positioned.

 Kurt knew Logan was awake because he could still feel his glare on himself from time to time. Kurt bet Logan was mad at him for lying about how he felt. They’d talked about his so-called problem with admitting when he was hurt before. Hell, last time when Kurt had finally almost passed out at breakfast from a high fever, Logan was so mad he took it upon himself to make sure Kurt got well enough for extra Danger Room sessions. Seeing Logan bring in chicken soup on a tray was one of the most hilarious, and yet at the same time, frightening things Kurt had ever seen. Somehow, though, while it was no picnic to have Logan staring at him while he tried to rest in bed, it was at the same time comforting too.

 “I’m not gonna let you pull this shit on me, Elf,” Logan finally broke the silence, raising his head from where it was resting against his chest, arms crossed as he turned to look at Kurt.

 Kurt scowled, glad that Logan couldn’t see the expression on his face, but said nothing in response, hoping to feign sleep.

 “I know you’re awake, and you can wipe that fucking scowl off your face that I know you’re making,” Logan growled as he stood up and approached the bars separating their cells.

 “Well then, what do you want me to say?” Kurt also sat up and glowered at Logan.

 “I want you to stop this fucking evasive bullshit and just – ”

 “Stop, both of you!” Kurt and Logan turned towards Jean, who was now sitting up straight, a glare directed at both of them. “This isn’t doing any of us any good!”

 Kurt, despite his anger at the argument, was slightly amused to see that he was right about the big red line that was now marking Jean’s face and the matching one that Scott bore.

 “She’s right, you know. So can’t you guys just cool it?” Scott, too, had been awakened by their little spat and was silently cursing them both for ruining his moment with Jean. And great, he had drool on his pants. _Yuck._

 “We’re all frustrated and frightened - yes even you Logan” Jean directed her gaze at Logan before continuing on, “but this is no time to take that fear out on each other.” After getting reluctant nods in agreement, Jean got up and approached the cell door. “Now then, Kurt, are you seriously injured in any way?”

 A pause, and then, “no.”

 “Good. Now Logan, stop taking your anger out on – ” Jean didn’t get to finish her sentence because at that moment the door on the east side of the room was opened, letting in the leader, some guards, and a scientist or doctor Jean deduced from the white lab coat he was wearing.

 She shuffled further back in her cell, suddenly nervous and scared. As the men approached their cells, she noticed one of the guards had a tray with four bowls on it in his hands. Jean didn’t realize how hungry she was until she saw the sight of food, even though she didn’t smell anything wafting from the bowls. Probably prison gruel of some sort.

 “I figured my specimens were in need of some nutrition, and I’ve come with dinner,” the man in the lab coat said.

 “Are you the one who ordered these men to capture us?” Scott demanded as he took in the newcomer’s appearance. Lanky, average height, slim glasses, and a receding hairline of black hair – Scott thought if this guy was going for the strict high school science teacher, he certainly pulled it off. All he needed was a stiffly buttoned up, overly starched shirt underneath the lab coat.

 Instead of answering him, the scientist was grinning maliciously at Logan. “Weapon X, it’s been a long time.”

 “Dr. Falk,” Logan wanted to do nothing more than to unleash his claws and slice right through the scientist’s throat. The collar barring that, Logan instead approached the man with barely contained fury emanating from his stare. “Seems you were able to escape my rampage when I tore the Director apart, piece by piece. And as soon as I get out of here,” Logan spat on the ground, “I’ll do the same to you!”

 Falk started at the spit in disgust before looking back up at Logan. “And how will you do that with that ingenious collar, if I do say so myself, around your neck, hmm?” The scientist gloated. “I know what you did to everyone at the Weapon X project, and I was lucky to not be there that day,” Dr. Falk smirked triumphantly at Logan before continuing. “I couldn’t let all the fruits of my labor into the project go wasted, so I developed these collars so that this time I’d be prepared. And thanks to my genius, I can now continue on the project to develop living weapons, starting with my capture of you and your pitiful students.” The scientist’s eyes swept over Jean and Scott before landing on Kurt. His eyes widened in surprise, then a devious and satisfied grin spread across his face before turning back to Logan. “I doubt you’ll be making any successful attempts at escaping this time.”

 Logan bared his teeth, but he knew Fucking Falk, as Logan liked to call him, had him lock, stock and barrel. Instead of kicking up a fuss and risk being knocked out by the guards, all Logan could hope for was that the doctor would choose him to perform whatever experiments he had in mind instead of on one of the teens.

 “Now then, before I allow you to eat your dinner, I shall take one of you with me for a little,” Falk grinned sadistically, “one-on-one time.”

 “I’ll go,” Scott said audaciously. If anyone was going to suffer, Scott wasn’t going to let any one of his teammates do so in his place.  

 “Quiet down, Cyke,” Logan glared at Scott before turning towards Falk. “You’ll be taking me.”

 “Ah, volunteers,” Falk shook his head in amusement, “but I think I’ll be the one to decide.”

 Jean was as far back in her cell as possible, and held her breath as the scientist’s gaze fell over her, then releasing it when Falk moved quickly on. He was assessing them, choosing, and Jean wasn’t brave like Scott. She couldn’t volunteer herself up in place for her teammates, her friends. She was ashamed but remained silent.

 “I believe my specimen already knows my choice,” Dr. Falk said as his eyes finally landed on Kurt.

 By now Kurt had stood up, knowing from the way Falk had first looked at him, surprise replaced by fascination, that he was going to be the one chosen. Kurt figured Falk must’ve once been in a Sadists ‘R Us club, with his drawing out the drama of choosing his test subject when he had already made up his mind.

 “I do appreciate a smart specimen.” Falk nodded to the leader who in turn commanded two of the guards to open Kurt’s cell and usher him after Falk.

 Logan tried to make a grab for Falk as he passed by his cell, but Falk merely sidestepped his hand. “You fucking bastard! Get over here!” Logan bellowed but Falk and the guards continued towards the exit. “You better not fucking harm him! Ya got me!”

 Scott had also been yelling but was drowned out by Logan. He wanted to kick the bowl of gruel right back in the guard’s face as he pushed it into Scott’s cell, but Scott resisted, knowing it would do no good.

 Kurt’s back was ramrod straight as he was led out the door, Logan’s continued shouting echoing in his ears. He tried to act brave for the sake of his friends, but his heart was beating a mile a minute. Even if his arms weren’t shackled in front of him, he knew he wouldn’t be able to take out the guards, the leader and the scientist, so he figured the best thing to do now was cooperate. There’d be an opportunity at some point, certainly. There had to be.

 Belaying the intensity of the situation, the door shut quietly with a rasp behind the guard who had just finished distributing the food. All that was left behind was resounding silence broken up intermittently by Logan’s deep, angry breaths.

 XXXXXXXXXX

 Gershwin took a deep breath to prepare himself before he opened the door to Dr. Falk’s lab. The leader had so graciously assigned Gershwin for his earlier enthusiasm in the van to the task of interrupting Falk when he was preoccupied in his lab. Gershwin regretted being so overzealous in the van to salute, what was it, four or five times? Surely not more than six. He sometimes just got caught up in the moment and all his army training would come rushing back to him, tenfold.

 “Man, I sure don’t envy you,” said one of the two guards standing outside of the lab.

 Gershwin smiled grimly, and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, wishing he had just stayed in the army instead of joining up with this group of mercenaries. Disturbing the doctor was far more frightening than facing any drill sergeant in boot camp.

 Knowing it was no use to delay the inevitable, Gershwin knocked…really really softly. And he waited. No response. Now he was just being silly. Pretending that his sister was in the bathroom and he really needed to go, he banged on the door, announcing his urgent need to get in.

 “This better be important!” came the muffled response. “I hate being disturbed in the middle of my work.”

 Taking that as a sign of admittance, Gershwin entered the lab, ready to bear down Dr. Falk’s temper.

 “Well?” Falk demanded, still remaining bent over the mutant he had decided as his primary test subject.

 The mutant was prone on the research table, his hands and feet in leather restraining straps that reminded Gershwin of Terminator 2. Gershwin hoped the doctor realized to not keep any paperclips nearby. * The mutant had been divested of his layered shirts, and his pants had gotten a new lease on life as shorts. Currently the doctor was running his hand up and down the mutie’s back, poking and prodding along the spine. “Um well, that is…” Gershwin stared down at the mutant. His eyes were clenched tightly shut and Gershwin thought he looked like the epitome of devastation.

 “Spit it out already!” Falk finally turned to look at just who had entered his domain. He was in a relatively pleasant mood with his discovery of such an unusual mutant, so he was giving the hapless guard a break by not throwing any of the nearby instruments at him.

 “It’s already past midnight, sir, and –”

 “So?” Falk turned back to his new specimen, already tuning the interrupting guard out. “This mutant is absolutely fascinating,” Falk said as he began to prod Kurt’s back again. “You see, his spine is flexible, like a cat’s, that allows him to run quadruped style, and what’s more -”

 “So if the mutant was dropped off a building, would he land on all four feet?” Gershwin’s mouth asked before his mind caught up with him. Luckily, Falk seemed to actually ponder the question.

 “Perhaps, but I’d rather keep him around a bit longer before testing that theory.” Dr. Falk paused before beginning to pace, his finger tapping his chin. “What doesn’t make sense is how this mutant claims he has no other power beside his physical form. I speculate that he is, what I have termed, a second-generation mutant.”

 Gershwin nodded, but then realized the doctor was not actually talking to him but rather was thinking aloud.

 “One of his parents must have been a mutant to produce such physical manifestations, but of course, he denies this too. Surely a second-generation mutant would have even more power than a normal mutant.” Falk turned back to his specimen, looking at Kurt contemplatively, before continuing. “His unusually high level of sodium, potassium and phosphorus and low levels of magnesium indicate an incredibly fast metabolism, but to what end? His eyes would seem to have a layer of tapetum lucidum by the unnatural glow, but that can’t be all his powers.” Approaching Kurt, Falk incredulously asked, “Surely you have other mutant powers besides greater eyesight in the dark and the ability to remain thin.”

 Gershwin looked down at the mutant to see if he would answer, and could see that he was keeping his eyes closed tightly, as if not seeing anything would make this all be just a bad dream. Gershwin actually felt sort of bad for the kid, but realized that this kid’s tape-ums lucid-ums or whatever it was could probably blow Gershwin’s face right off. These muties were dangerous, and having them locked up and controlled would be better for society. Any pity Gershwin had evaporated.

“Answer me, specimen” Dr. Falk growled as he leaned over Kurt, intimating that he would receive an answer in one way or another.

 “No, I don’t,” Kurt said quietly as he finally looked up at the scientist. He was humiliated, tired, and sick to his stomach from numerous emotions he couldn’t began to count. This was one of his worst fears come to realization. He was sick of being probed like a slab a meat, with x-rays taken, vital signs recorded, blood being drawn more times than he could remember, samples of fur and skin being taken, and physical tests ordered.

And now, he felt vulnerable with his back exposed, but still, he refused to give in to this scientist and tell him the truth about his relation to Mystique or about his teleportation.  

 Gershwin flinched back, ready to leap for cover, as he saw the mutant open his eyes. When his head remained in tact, Gershwin could see that the mutant’s eyes were yellow, but besides that, nothing else seemed different. Gershwin felt a bit ridiculous at his reaction, after all the collar should work on any mutant power, even the tapums lucidins thingies.

 “Hmm,” Falk tapped his chin again before heading towards another table off to the side where several vials of liquids in varying shades were kept, “perhaps your powers simply haven’t manifested yet, but that is easily remedied.”

 Relieved Dr. Falk was in a good mood and now with a pause in Falk’s analysis, Gershwin decided to try again with his orders. “Sir, it is late and the leader requested for your presence.”

 Falk looked up with a syringe in one hand and a vial full of a clear serum in his other. “What is so important that the leader needs me at this very moment?” Falk’s voice was quiet but menacing, and his eyes narrowed at Gershwin.

 “Um, sir, that is…”

 “Spit…it…out.”

 “It’s about the other mutants, sir,” Gershwin ducked his head, not wanting to see the scientist’s reaction, “the ones we weren’t able to capture.”

 “Weren’t able to capture.” Falk repeated, his voice even lower and more foreboding.

 Kurt, however, felt his heart rise as he saw out of the corner of his eye Gershwin nod in affirmation. The others must’ve been able to fully escape, despite the men having the key to X-jet. Kurt couldn’t stop the small smile that spread across his face.

 “Fine,” Falk spat as he quickly filled the syringe with the serum, “tell him I’ll be with him shortly.”

 “But I, uh, that is, I’m supposed to – ”

 “I believe I am the one that hired you. My orders are the law, and I certainly don’t need an escort.” Satisfied the guard understood who was in charge, Falk continued. “Just tell Leader Kemp that I’ll be with him shortly.”

 After Gershwin had saluted, thankfully only once, and had left, Falk turned back to Kurt. “I would prefer to observe you after I administer the first dose of XfB306, but unfortunately, it seems I’ve been called away.” Falk considered having one of his lab techs watch after his new specimen, but he felt oddly possessive of his test subject, and didn’t want anyone else touching him.

 “I’ll just administer a low dose to get started.” Falk was confident there wouldn’t be any complications from the serum; after all, he had developed it. There was probably going to be some uncomfortable to painful side effects, but Falk wasn’t concerned about those.

 Kurt watched surreptitiously as Falk approached. He may have cooperated with the scientist’s other administrations, but there was no way he was going to let Falk have an easy time injecting him full of some strange liquid. As soon as Falk made to inject his arm, his tail lashed out quickly to knock the syringe from Falk’s hand.

 Surprisingly, Falk held onto the syringe as Kurt’s tail wrestled with Falk’s hand. In a moment, though, Falk had switched the syringe to his other hand and was able to swiftly inject the serum into Kurt anyway.

 “And what exactly did you hope to accomplish with that little resistance besides angering me,” Falk sneered at Kurt.

 Kurt didn’t respond, wishing now that he maybe had cooperated because that needle was really big and being jammed with it had really hurt.

“Don’t try to resist me, little demon,” Falk threatened, his hand gripping tightly where he had just shoved the needle into Kurt.

 Wincing, Kurt tried to wiggle his arm out of Falk’s grasp but it was useless with his hands bound to the table. Before he could attempt with his tail, Falk had already let go of his arm and had sneered once more before turning away from him.

 “Guards!” Falk called out. As soon as they had entered Falk ordered them to return Kurt back to his cell. “And do recuff him. He seems to need some added restraint.” With yes sirs from both, Falk left to see to the problem of the escaped mutants.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 The next morning, Scott was up, well he would say at the crack of dawn, but he couldn’t really tell what time it was down there. He didn’t sleep well lying on cold concrete with the bright lights from overhead still bearing down on him. He also couldn’t sleep thanks to his worry over Kurt and their situation.

 Scott figured, even if Logan was there, he was also the team’s leader and he should try something to help them escape. So, when everyone was asleep, he had tested out whether he could still use his powers or not, but opening his visor resulted in nothing. Scott didn’t want to risk taking off his visor all the way. If his powers weren’t fully blocked by the collar, then unleashing the full force of his optic beam could bring the whole building down on top of them. He had then kicked the wall in frustration and stubbed his toe. He then proceeded to hop around on one foot while trying to muffle his yelp of pain. At least no one was up to see his idiocy.

 Scott could see that Jean was still asleep, and guessed that Logan was awake, even though his eyes were still closed. Kurt was also out, but Scott presumed as much, with what Kurt had gone through last night.

 When the guards had returned, it had already been hours, Scott reckoned. Kurt hadn’t told them much, just that he was fine ( _of course, Kurt could come in with one arm and still be fine_ , Scott thought), that it was like a really bad physical exam, and that since he had no mutant powers, the scientist had seen it fit to administer him a shot of something.

 Scott, of course, was pleased at Kurt’s continued duplicity while at the same time worried over the effects of the injected drug. He also couldn’t imagine why “a really bad physical exam” would entail ripping one’s clothes to shreds. Or as to why it was necessary for Kurt to still be in handcuffs. Most likely Falk wanted to dehumanize Kurt as much as possible.

 He hoped that Kurt would wake up soon so that he could eat. Logan had for some reason blown a gasket when Kurt had refused to eat dinner, complaining of the injection. Kurt had merely lied down on the floor away from Logan, ignoring Logan’s vehement protests. Scott had no idea what was up between Logan and Kurt, but figured that Logan must be misplacing his anger at the situation onto Kurt for some reason. Sure, Kurt and Logan weren’t close like say Kitty or Rogue was to Logan, but still this was a bit out of hand.

 Scott was now pacing the small expanse of his cell with his thoughts and worries trailing after him. He could think of a way out of this, he knew he could. Maybe if he had a pack of chewing gum, string and laundry detergent he could do something. Ha, yeah right, last time Scott looked, he wasn’t MacGyver. Scott’s musings were cut short as the east door to the room opened.

 Logan, of course, had not been asleep, and immediately sat up at the entrance of the leader, that really fucking annoying guard, some other random men, and Dr. Falk.

 “Do these guy ever sleep?” Scott asked incredulously.

 “Their sadism keeps them going,” Logan answered, his eyes watching the group’s approach.

 “Why a compliment from you for once,” Dr. Falk returned. “How kind.”

 The leader watched Falk and the burly mutant banter, wondering why someone as prestigious as Dr. Falk would lower himself to trade insults with a mutie. Well, not his place to question.

 Turning away from Weapon X, Dr. Falk turned to Kurt, who, like Jean, had woken as soon as the group had entered. “And how is my little demon doing today?”

 Kurt didn’t answer him and stayed back in his corner of his cell. He still felt slightly hot and achy, probably from the serum, but it’s not like he was going to tell this asshole that.

 “Well then, since it seems you’re just as prone to being recalcitrant as yesterday, let’s get this day started.” Falk smiled before turning to the other side of the room. “And of course, I can’t let you all rot in here while I’m consumed with my research. So,” Falk gestured to a man in a similar white lab coat to approach his side, “how about you and the other lab techs do a little background research on him.” Falk pointed to Scott before nodding to the leader.

 The leader in turn told the green recruit and the other guards to retrieve the prisoners, or test subjects as it were. The leader remained stoic as he saw that the green recruit obeyed without a single dreaded movie reference but on the inside he was pleased with himself. It seemed that his assignment to the recruit to carry out the permanent vacation of the stuttering, useless guard had wizened up the young man and hopefully the other members of his group of mercenaries. The message that he wouldn’t allow anymore disobedience was probably written clearly across their eyes, hopefully in the stuttering guard’s blood. He needed good, malleable men if he wanted to remain the finest mercs out there, and if he wanted to be sure he remained the leader without worry of mutiny or assassination attempts for his position.

 Turning back to Falk once his men had gotten the two muties out without too much trouble, nothing a few rams of the gun didn’t fix, the leader followed his boss out of the room.

 Logan was burning with fury inside the whole time, but was only capable of standing behind his bars, grasping them with all his strength, as if he could pull them apart with his bare hands. As Falk walked past his cell, Logan threatened in a deep, low voice, “As soon as I’m outta here, you’re a dead man, Falk.” Clichéd, yeah, pointless, yeah but Logan didn’t want to stand there like nothing was going on, even if he couldn’t do anything about it. And by glaring at Falk’s retreating form, he could avoid the gazes of Scott and Kurt, not wanting to see the accusations and despair that was surely in their eyes.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- In Terminator 2, Sarah Connor is in a mental institution and hides a paperclip in her mouth to break out.
> 
> \- All the elements listed are supposed to create a faster metabolism, but I have no idea what having really high levels and low levels of magnesium would do to a person. Also, this is kind of extraneous, but turns out people with fast metabolism are often overweight. So in this fic, Falk saying Kurt has the ability to remain thin as one of his powers would be right in the sense that Kurt would likely be overweight with a really super fast metabolism, but he’s not – thus his thinness is connected to his power. Though Kurt’s high intake of junk food would slow down the metabolism and thus – okay stopping. Does this make any sense? PS this is info from internet research, so grain of salt please.
> 
> \- Tapetum Lucidum is what allows cats and other animals to see better in the dark, and it also gives them that glow in their eyes at night or in pictures.


	5. Hope

  **Retrieval of Self: Chapter 5**

 Her legs were cramped from sitting with her knees bent to her chest, but Jean Grey didn’t want to move from her position. She had no idea how long she had been sitting, though it seemed like at least half the day had gone. Still, she refused to budge. Sitting like this gave her a sense of comfort, somehow, as she thought about how once again she was unable to speak out to the guards as they took Scott and Kurt away. She could feel the bile in her throat rise as she thought about her unexpected cowardice and disloyalty to her friends. How could she even call herself an X-man and not even rail against the guards. Maybe she didn’t have to go to the extremes that Logan did in his vitriol at the scientist, but she could’ve at least made _some_ sort of protest. Instead, she was too afraid that the guards might take her instead to make even one utterance in protest. First, she let down Kurt, and now she let him down again along with Scott.

 Either Logan didn’t notice her shameful behavior or he was too absorbed in his anger because he hadn’t said a word since Scott and Kurt were escorted to whatever new horror the scientists were going to inflict. All Jean could do was keep watch on the room’s two doors, her eyes bouncing back and forth, waiting for one of her friend’s return. Jean told herself that next time she would surely make some noise, that is if they didn’t come for her … she really would… really. With a sigh, Jean realized she was just lying to herself. She felt her eyes prick with tears as she realized just the thought of being taken away like Kurt and Scott had been was too terrifying. Refusing to cry, Jean gripping her hands tighter about her knees, hoping that she could somehow scrounge up her courage. _Where’s the Wizard of Oz when you need him?_ Jean sniffled at her poor attempt at trying to cheer herself up.

 Jean’s pity party, though, was cut short by the sound of the west door being unlocked and opened. Some guards entered with Scott in tow. Jean stood up to greet Scott and see if he was okay. Her mouth gaping open, she let out an audible gasp as she caught sight of him. He wasn’t wearing his ruby quartz visor! She quickly took in the rest of him, eyes narrowing at the large bruise that formed across the left side of his face, before returning disbelieving eyes to look at Scott as he was shoved into his cell.

 Logan, who had stood up as soon as he heard the guards’ return, had also noticed the absence of Scott’s glasses. While he knew Scott had always lamented not being able to see anything but a red-tinted world, the fact that the collar was obviously strong enough to block Scott’s powerful optic beam meant that their chances at escape just got lower. Logan, though, seeing the look that Jean was giving Scott, didn’t want to interrupt the lovers’ little reunion, so he sat back down and remained silent.

After the guards had left, Jean turned to Scott. “Scott! I can’t believe it!” Jean admired Scott’s soft, brown eyes. It was the first time ever she had been able to look at Scott and not see her own reflection in his glasses.

Scott couldn’t help but smile at Jean. Her smile was contagious to him, and he shared in her happiness at finally being able to see her beautiful features as they should be. “Neither can I.”

Jean almost felt giddy at seeing happiness dance in Scott’s eyes. “Your eyes are so… just so…”

“What?” Scott asked eagerly, wanting to know what Jean was thinking.

“They’re just beautiful.”

Scott felt like he could shoot right out of his cell and straight up to the stars. His face must’ve shown what he felt because Jean burst into happy giggles, which of course got him started as well. After a few moments catching their breaths, Jean’s smile disappeared as she reached out and touched the bruise that spread across his cheek.

 “How did this happen?” she asked concernedly. Now that she had gotten over her initial joy of seeing Scott without his visor, her worry over what the scientists had done sprung back up. “What did they do to you? Did they inject you with anything like Kurt?”

 “No, they didn’t inject me with anything,” Scott reassured Jean, placing a hand on her shoulder through the bars. “Basically, they took a few of my vital signs, and then shoved me into some steel room.”

 “A steel room? What for?”

 “Seems like the room was built to handle testing mutant powers,” Scott continued as he reached a hand up in habit to adjust his glasses – and then paused as he remembered they weren’t there. He’d have to get used to that.

 “But the collar – ”

 “They had some little slot in the wall where they slid the key into and told me to take it off. Of course, I immediately tried blasting the observation window and door, but it didn’t work.” Scott shrugged, “they just laughed at me and told me that the room could withstand a nuclear explosion.”

 “What did they have you do?” Jean whispered, worried that the room was like the Danger Room, and that the scientists forced Scott through some dangerous course.

 “They just had me test out my beam on different targets at different intensities.”

 “Testing out your abilities before they start any experiments,” came Logan’s voice. He figured they were done with their teenage mushiness, even if it was sort of cute (not that Logan would ever admit). Logan stood up and walked over to the bar cells. “They want to find the full extent of what you can do before they decide how best to ‘enhance’ your power.” Logan scoffed, showing what he thought of their enhancements. Even if his adamantium skeleton did make him pretty powerful, it still meant he couldn’t swim well.

 “Why did you cooperate with them, Scott?” Jean accused, before realizing what a hypocrite she was. She wanted to take back those words immediately, but couldn’t as Scott quickly came to his own defense.

 “I had to, okay,” Scott answered, his face pinched with disconcertion at why he had to comply with his captures’ wishes.

 He had vehemently told the scientist that he wouldn’t participate in their damn tests, which had caused one of the scientists to threaten “oh yes he would.” Scott had to wonder if there was some sort of evil badguy training camp where all jerks were trained to say such stupid threats. Three flat screen TV sets that were hung near the ceiling had flickered on, the images in clear quality. Two TVs had shown the inside of the cell room, one with Logan in view and the other with Jean, both of whom were sitting unaware of being observed in their cells. The third TV had shown Kurt, strapped down on some examination table, being examined by Dr. Falk. Scott had felt sick as he watched Falk study Kurt’s tail, Falk’s hands running over the tail as he asked questions to an anguished Kurt. Scott knew from first hand experience at how much Kurt hated his tail being touched without permission, and he could feel his rage build up. The scientist’s voice had come back over the speaker and threatened his teammates unless Scott cooperated. Scott couldn’t hold his anger in anymore at the depravity of how low these scums would stoop, and before he knew it, he was blasting his beam at the observation window, even though he knew it would do nothing. When his tantrum was over, the scientist had accepted that as acquiescence, and the room was soon filled with targets and orders from his capturers on what to do.

 Scott, of course, was in no way going to tell all these details to Jean, so he just whispered again, “I just had to.”

 “I know, Scott,” Jean said. “I’m sorry I asked.”

 Scott shook his head, waving off her apology. “Afterwards, they just ordered me to put the collar back on again without the visor on. When they discovered the collar suppressed all my power, they took the visor away, though not without a fight.” Scott said with a glint in his eye as he gestured to the bruise on his cheek.

 “Yes, Scott, your bruise is very manly,” Jean teased to which Scott blushed in embarrassment.

 Before they could start up with any more sappiness Logan butted in. “So, what was over that way?” He asked, as he gestured with his head towards the door Scott had been taken through.

 “Just more corridors and hallways,” Scott shrugged. “I don’t think I could even find my way back to that testing room even if I wanted to.”

 Logan let out a frustrated grumph as silence fell over the group.

 Scott went and leaned against the back wall of his cell, sighing as he tried once again to think of a way to escape.

 A short time passed before Jean couldn’t stand the silence, the worry, and self-flagellation of her own thoughts running through her head anymore. “Do you think they’ll bring back Kurt soon?”

 Before anyone could answer, the east door was unlocked and opened.

 “Well, speak of the devil,” Logan commented as he watched two guards bring Kurt in. A pause and then Logan added, “no pun intended.”

 Scott thought that Kurt looked tired and ragged as he was lead into his cell. “You okay, Kurt?” Though concerned, Scott couldn’t help but be sort of taken aback at how blue Kurt really was. His visor always made Kurt seem to be more of a reddish purple color, and it was weird to see differently. Still, though, Scott thought blue was a nice color and all, it didn’t compare to green, the color of Jean’s eyes. Too bad her hair was red. Scott felt that he could go for the rest of his life not seeing red and be fine.

 “Ja, fine.” Kurt replied as he lied down on the floor. He was hot, achy, and tired again thanks to Falk giving him another shot of XmCraptastic serum. All he wanted to do was have the Sandman hit him with a Sahara-sized desert so he could sleep forever. With a small wave of his tail to the others, he quietly said, “Night.”

 Jean and Scott looked worriedly at each other, but didn’t say anything. Logan, though, wasn’t going to let Kurt skip out on another meal.

 “You oughta eat first, Elf,” Logan interrupted Kurt’s attempt at oblivion.

 “Not hungry, tired. Sleep.” Kurt didn’t even open his eyes as he brushed Logan off.

 Logan clenched his teeth, trying to control his sudden irrational anger. He figured his anger came from the fact that Kurt was blocking them out once again. Sure, Logan bet Kurt was tired, he certainly looked it, but trying to sleep right away also accomplished avoiding any of their questions. Fine, if Kurt wanted to be like that, then Logan wasn’t going to stop it, but Logan sure as hell wasn’t going to allow Kurt to pull some stupid stunt and jeopardize any possible escape. “No, you need to eat now.”

 Kurt opened his eyes and glared across the room at a point on the wall. He still wasn’t hungry and he didn’t want to eat and he was just so angry and frustrated and he didn’t know what else and why the hell couldn’t Logan shut the hell up about this! Taking a deep breath to rein in his frustration, Kurt replied as calmly as he could, “I’d rather sleep first.”

 “Too bad, Bub, because I’d rather you eat first.”

 Jean could see that Logan was barely keeping his anger in check. _Logan should take a Anger Management course, or better yet, a How Not To Pick on Your Fellow Captives class._ But really, Logan was just acting ridiculous towards Kurt for whatever reason, and Jean wasn’t going to let it continue. However, she did see Logan’s point.

Before Kurt could reply Jean decided to butt in. “Kurt, look, Logan is right. You really do need to eat.” Jean could see that Kurt was listening even if he still refused to look anyone in the eye, so she continued. “You don’t know when these men,” Jean’s voice filled with disgust momentarily on the word men, “will return, or when you’ll get the next opportunity to eat. And,” Jean let her worry seep into her voice to try and convince Kurt further, “you really need to keep up your strength and energy, especially with your metabolism. So will you please eat?”

Kurt really couldn’t ignore Jean’s impassioned plea, even if he wasn’t hungry one bit. Besides, she did make a good point about keeping up his strength. If he wanted to have the energy to teleport and to escape whenever that opportunity arose, then he did need to eat something.

“Alright,” Kurt sighed as he sat up and retrieved the bowl that had been left in his cell.

Scott brightened at Kurt’s acquiescence, and turned to see Jean smiling brightly.

“Good,” Logan said as he nodded towards Jean in thanks for helping him in expressing what he could not. Logan sat down against the cell wall before turning to Kurt. He realized he’d been pretty irrational towards Kurt lately, and so he figured he oughta try and make it up.

 “Just don’t think about anything as you eat it. Or better yet, try to imagine it’s mashed potatoes or cottage cheese,” Logan warned before Kurt got a good look at the so-called food. Logan wished they’d escape soon cause he had no idea how he much longer he could survive having to eat the gruel. It really didn’t taste anything like cottage cheese, which was a shame as Logan really loved cottage cheese. _With peaches… and a beer too._ Beer made any meal tough and manly, even cottage cheese.

 Kurt blinked a few times to try and shake off some of his sleepiness before looking into the bowl. “Yuck, day old sludge. I think I’d rather eat anything made by Kitty instead of this,” Kurt commented as he held the spoon over the bowl and watched as the snot-colored mass made disgusting slopping noises as it plopped back into the bowl. “Do you think they got this from Toad’s locker or did they just have everyone pick their noses and put it all in the microwave?”

 Scott laughed, “Kurt, if you don’t stop describing it, I think you’ll see what that gruel looks like digested.”

 Jean just rolled her eyes. _Boys_. But she was glad that Kurt had regained his sense of humor and that Scott was being a little less tense.

 Logan even cracked a smile, though he hid it with a well placed cough. Right now, Logan didn’t care where “Fucking Falk” was or what he was up to. He was enjoying watching Kurt force down the sludge as he traded banter with Scott as Jean tried to look on in disproval. Logan could tell that Jean was actually getting a kick out of Scott and Kurt’s jokes with her small sniggers.

 “You know, you look really weird without your visor,” Kurt commented to Scott as he forced down another bite of the sludge.

 “Yeah?” Scott said. “You look really weird too without it.”

 Kurt gave Scott a perplexed look.

 “Well, for one thing, you no longer look so purple.”

 “Ach, I’m purple to you when you have your visor on?” Kurt said incredulously and with dismay. Even if he did have problems with his physical appearance, he still liked the color of his fur. But being seen as purple!

 “Yup, purple like the People Eater.”

 “Who? I don’t eat people.” Kurt said, looking at Scott as if he’d grown another head.

 “No, I know that,” Scott said amusedly. “Nevermind that. But really, it isn’t bad. It’s more of a maroon, maybe?” Really, asking him to identify colors was pretty pointless when his whole basis for what colors are supposed to look like is from studying a crayon box.

 “Good. I doubt I’d look good in pastel. I’d hate to be the color of Kitty’s bedspread,” Kurt said as he looked at the fur on his arm, imagining himself a shade of lilac. He shuddered.

 This in turn caused Jean’s mind to create an image of Kurt in a pretty pastel purple with a nice floral pattern. Jean couldn’t help but laugh, causing her to accidentally let out a piggy snort.

 “Did you just snort, Jean?” Scott teased as he tried to get his laughter under control.

 “What? Of course not,” Jean denied, but she was still laughing and another snort escaped her. “Oh god,” Jean blushed as she put up a hand to cover her face.

 Of course this led to Kurt and Scott relentlessly teasing Miss Perfect Jean Grey about her ridiculous snorts.

 Logan sat back and enjoyed the brief respite from their horrible situation. Even though he knew it wouldn’t last, Logan wanted himself and the others to soak up this moment to help them get them through whatever laid ahead.

 Laughter filled the cell room.

 

XXXXXXXXXX

 Falk was tapping his pen against his desk as he glared up at Leader Kemp. His office was dark, with only the lamp and computer emitting a concentrated light source. Right now they were discussing different methods on how to capture the mutants who were still at large.   Kemp had just recounted how the mutants had escaped the night before, and how two of them had searched around and inside the specious abandoned building all of the day.

 “And you didn’t see it fit to capture them when they were right on our doorstep?” Falk asked menacingly.

 “No, sir,” the Leader didn’t falter under Falk’s harsh glare. “One of the two was the same woman who’s able to control lightning and wind. She decimated our squad last night. I am currently planning a different strategy on how to apprehend her.”

 “Yes, I suppose it would be best not to reveal our location without a guarantee of capture,” Falk nodded in concurrence. He smirked in self-satisfaction that his underground facility had yet to be discovered. He had dealt with telepathic mutants before at Weapon X, and he had reverse engineered some equipment from his days then. Of course, he had added to the equipment design, making it effectively create a wide barrier against all telepathic mutants. If any of the remaining mutants were telepathic and tried using their abilities to find his facility, they would be up the creek, so to speak.

 Falk turned to Kemp again. “And who was this other mutant with her?”

 “An unknown. He was a large, blue…” the Leader paused before continuing, knowing how absurd he would sound, “talking ape.”

 “Hmm, a talking ape,” Falk repeated, already thinking of what this new mutant could add to his research. Falk mentally began calling the new mutant Cornelius.

 “Sir, how would you like my men to capture the mutants?” the Leader asked, interrupting Falk’s musings.

 “We know where they live, correct?”

 “Yes, sir.”

 “Then we continue developing our original plan before we had the fortunate circumstance that brought the mutants to train right by us,” Falk ordered as he turned back to study some of the data he had gathered from his research on their captives.

 The Leader took Falk’s diverted attention as a dismissal. He nodded before exiting to work on the pernicious plan.

 

XXXXXXXXXX

The Professor was in the living room, watching Star Trek but not really paying attention to the screen. He had always liked Star Trek as a boy, and was pleased when Kurt and Evan began watching reruns on the TV. He fancied himself after Jean Luc Picard,* but unlike Jean Luc, he didn’t have a script to tell him what to do next and how everything would turn out.

It had already been 3 days since his students and Logan’s capture. Though the Professor spent hours upon hours on Cerebro, looking for any mutant signature and scanning the area around the suspicious building, he had no success. Ororo and Hank had spent each day combing the area where the fight had taken place and by the abandoned building, but they found nothing. Not a trace or even a hair.

Charles sighed, hoping that somehow his students were persevering. Suddenly, the slamming of a door upstairs brought him out of his reverie. Unfortunately, his students who had escaped were not handling it so well. It seemed that Kitty and Rogue were constantly fighting, and that Evan was constantly training in the Danger Room. He refused to pry into precisely why, but he certainly was upset over the constant bickering and would prefer if they would make amends.

Charles turned his head towards the stairs as he heard a loud stomping coming down, wondering which of his students was making such a racket. Kitty rounded the corner, her eyes puffy and red.

“Oh, Professor!” Kitty exclaimed, startled to see him sitting there, and she hurriedly tried to wipe her eyes.

 “Kitty,” the Professor said, “come sit here.” He patted at the seat near his wheelchair.

 Kitty complied and tried to smile to show she was okay. But, she wasn’t fooling anyone.

 “Now then,” the Professor looked at her seriously once she had sat down, “tell me what’s troubling you.”

 “Well, I really don’t want to bother you…”

 “Please, Kitty, you aren’t bothering me. I wouldn’t have asked if you were.” The Professor gave her an encouraging smile.

 Kitty took the offered seat and looked down at her shoes. The Professor let Kitty gather her thoughts, knowing that she would confide in him. Unlike some of his other students, Kitty wasn’t as secretive or obstinate in asking for help.

 Finally, Kitty looked up at him. “Do you think that –” Kitty looked down at her knees as if she could draw courage from them before continuing, “do you think that I was wrong to run away and leave the others behind?”

  _Ah, so this must be what she and Rogue are constantly arguing about._ The Professor sighed, realizing they both must be feeling the same guilt that was plaguing Evan. Not necessarily survivor’s guilt since no one had died, but it was a close description.

 “No, I don’t,” the Professor stated.

 Kitty stared at him in shock. She thought for sure he would say yes. After all, Rogue had told her so, and even she thought she was wrong in leaving her teammates behind.

 The Professor looked at Kitty seriously before explaining his point. “Logan told you to run, and you did. It is always important to listen to your teachers in such dangerous situations.”

 “But what if he was wrong?” Kitty asked as she began nervously picking at some loose threads on the couch.

 The Professor knew he had to be careful in his answer. He didn’t want to impress on Kitty that Logan and her other mentors were infallible, but he also didn’t want her to constantly doubt their judgment. “I have confidence in Logan’s ability to protect you, and I respect his judgment. Some situations call for a unified plan of action, and in this case, Logan was right in ordering you to run and you were right in following his instruction.”

 “It just doesn’t feel like it was the right thing to do,” Kitty shrugged despondently.

 “Sometimes the right choice can feel like the wrong one. If you had stayed behind, you would’ve only been captured yourself, and would have only made the situation worse. By running, you are free to help them escape.” The Professor leaned in to Kitty to emphasize his next point. “And I would have done the same. Sometimes, you must do what might seem like the cowardly option, when it is actually the hardest and best option to choose.” The Professor leaned back, looking hard at Kitty. “Understand?”

 Kitty nodded slowly, mulling over what the Professor said. He was usually right about these things, and his reasoning sounded good. Kitty, though, still couldn’t help but feel the guilt gnawing at her insides.

 “Good,” the Professor smiled at her before moving towards the elevator. He knew that whatever he said, Kitty would still doubt herself. All he could do was to keep on reassuring her that what she did was right. This might give her a bit more to think over. “Now then, let me continue on in my search through Cerebro.”

 “You haven’t found anything yet?” Kitty asked as she turned and perched on the edge of the couch to see the Professor. She already knew the answer but hopes springs eternal.

 “Unfortunately, no,” the Professor stopped his wheelchair and turned to face her again. “I believe something might be blocking my power.”

 “What? How is that possible? You’re the strongest telepath out there!” Kitty stared in disbelief. The Professor was so strong, and only Magneto knew how to stop his power, right?

 “I’m not quite sure, but if they were able to capture the others and keep them contained, then they must know quite a bit about us mutants,” he explained. They were dealing with experts who knew how to handle them, which worried the Professor even more when he thought about what might be happening to his captured students.

 “If only we could, like, make Cerebro stronger so you could overpower whatever’s blocking you,” Kitty said as she cupped her hand in her chin as she tried to think of ways to modify Cerebro. Too bad she knew basically nothing about how it was built or how it worked. She’d probably cause a minor explosion if she tried to work on it.

 “Hmm, yes, modify Cerebro…” the Professor considered over her suggestion.

 Kitty was surprised that he even took her seriously. Could the Professor really modify such a great machine? Maybe Hank could help. After all, he was the resident genius.

 “Of course!” The Professor enthusiastically hit his hand in the palm of his other hand. “Kitty, I believe you have just found the key to us finding the others.”

 XXXXXXXXXXXX

 A blast to his right. A quick dodge to the left. Throw a spike there… and there.

  _Yes, right on target!_

 Evan turned quickly around to face several black spheres that were flying directly at him. With a duck, he narrowly missed the first one from hitting him in the head, and it instead crashed into the ground behind him. As he rose up from his crouch, he threw a spike at one of the other approaching spheres, but it caromed right off of it.

 “Crap!” Evan quickly flung himself to the side as his spike flew back at him. Sprawled on the ground, he watched as the spheres veered towards him. Evan quickly tried to regain his footing, but his shoes kept on slipping on the metal floor. In the end, he had to scamper across the ground on his hands and knees, dodging spheres as they hurtled at him.

 Evan thought he wasn’t doing too badly with the dodging. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to actually fight these freaking “Balls Of Doom.”

 Maybe he could get them to crash into each other. That might not be a bad plan. He bet Scott couldn’t come up with anything better. Ha, he really was doing well… until the lasers joined in! _Oh man!_ Evan knew he couldn’t dodge both the spheres and the lasers at once. What program did he set it on again? Out of His Mind, level 56?

 One sphere struck the ground so close to Evan’s feet, he fell backwards in surprise. _Now I’m in for it_. All the spheres were floating around him, and the lasers were all pointed towards him. There was no way he could dodge all of them from his position. _This is gonna hurt._ The spheres came hurtling towards him. Evan closed his eyes.

 Several loud crashes later, Evan reopened one eye, peering out, wondering why he was still in one piece. All the spheres had crashed to the ground and all the lasers were powered down. Looking over to the Danger Room Control room, Evan saw his aunt through the windows looking at him sternly. Evan returned her look with a small wave and a sheepish grin. Boy, was he in trouble.

 Getting up, he pretended to dust himself off first. He knew his aunt was waiting for him in the control room, but he wanted to delay that moment for as long as possible. Not knowing what else he could do to delay some more, Evan went back to the old how to take a break during PE trick. He bent down and retied his shoe.

 “Evan, I know what you’re doing. Get in here, please,” Ororo’s voice came over the speakers.

 Sighing, Evan realized the jig was up, and so he walked… really slowly, to the control room.

 “Evan, that was very stupid and dangerous of you,” Evan was met with as a greeting when he walked into the room.

 “I know, Auntie O,” Evan replied as he sat down in one of the chairs near Ororo. “I was just blowing off some steam.”

 Ororo sighed, knowing precisely why Evan was training in the Danger Room like this. He was usually the slacker of the group, missing some DR sessions here and there. But now, ever since the others were captured, Ororo noticed Evan had started training in the Danger Room alone. She knew he blamed himself for their capture and that he probably was training so hard so he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Ororo wanted to tell him he wasn’t to blame or to ease his mind somehow, but she knew it wouldn’t be so simple as some inspirational speech.

 “Alright then, just don’t do it again,” Ororo instructed. “Next time you want to practice in the Danger Room, be sure to tell someone just in case you get hurt. And also, don’t you dare do it on such a high level again until you’re given permission.”

 “Yes, Auntie O,” Evan replied with a slump to his shoulders.

 “Hmm, you know,” Ororo started as she crossed her legs, “even I’ve gone into the Danger Room and set the level too high. I was lucky Logan had wanted to practice too and was able to turn off the program before I was too seriously injured.”

 Evan stared at his aunt, unsure of why she was telling him this, and a little disbelieving. His aunt was a meticulous person, and he’d never think she’d do the same stupid mistake as he did.

 Ororo, seeing Evan’s disbelief, nodded her, “Yes, Evan, we all make mistakes, even I do and so does Professor Xavier.”

 Evan looked even more incredulous. “Oh come on, when has Professor X ever made a mistake? I mean, he’s the Professor!”

 “It’s not my place to say, but everyone makes mistakes,” Ororo replied. “Sometimes our mistakes are harmless, such as recording over someone’s football game with the Home and Garden network.”

 Evan let out a small laugh, remembering when that had happened. Logan’s expression at discovering his game was replaced with one-hundred and one ways to water your petunias was priceless.

 Ororo smiled before continuing. “But sometimes our mistakes might have serious consequences,” her expression went grave, “but the best thing to do is to learn from it, not beat yourself over the head with it.”

 Evan grumbled as he realized his aunt was no longer talking about his Danger Room escapade. He hated serious talks like this. How does his aunt always manage to rope him into these sort of talks?

 “Evan, whether or not you truly made a mistake no longer matters,” Ororo looked him in the eye. “In the end, you can’t erase the past and by wearing yourself down like this, it isn’t improving anything. Learn from it and don’t use it as your own personal bludgeon. You understand?”

 Evan nodded hesitantly. He just wanted this conversation to be over… even if his aunt did usually give good advice.

 “Just think about it over a bit more.” Ororo knew Evan learned best from doing and not hearing some preachy speech. Now it was up to him whether he took her advice or not. “Now let’s get out of here,” she said as she stood up. “How does breakfast for dinner sound?”

 Evan smiled and let out a whoop – the conversation was over and he was getting one of his favorite dinners. His aunt sure knew how to please him. “Alright! Can I have extra cheese in my omelet?” Evan gave Ororo the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

 Ororo let out a laugh at his antics. “Alright, you can, but only because you’re my nephew.”

 As they exited the Danger Room, Evan’s thoughts turned back to his missing friends who wouldn’t get to share in the pancakes, eggs, and sausage. “Do you think the Professor is any closer to finding the others?”

 “I don’t know,” Ororo answered truthfully, “but I’m sure he’s doing everything in his power to –”

 Ororo was interrupted by said Professor’s telepathy.

  _Hank, Ororo, Evan, come up to the living room immediately, please. I believe I have found a way to discover the location of Logan and the others._

Evan let out a loud “Go Professor X!” before breaking into a run down the subbasement hallway to the elevator.

 Ororo ran to catch up with Evan as she asked the Professor how he was going to find the others if so far nothing had worked.

  _Through Cerebro, or perhaps I should say Cerebro 2.0_ ,came the reply. Ororo could hear the pleased tone in the Professor’s voice. She had no idea what the Professor was going to do. It sounded like modifying Cerebro, but wasn’t that a lot of work? Could he even do it without Eric Lehnsherr’s help?

_Evan, I want you to find Kurt’s cell phone and call Forge._

“Professor?’ Evan questioned.

  _Tell him he has a new project to work on._

 “Right on it, Prof!” Evan said as he jumped into the elevator.

  _Excellent._ Professor Xavier cut off his telepathy, finally feeling as if something was going right. _We’re on our way. I pray that we rescue the others unscathed. Hopefully Logan has been able to protect them from any harm._ All the Professor could do now was concentrate on revamping Cerebro as quickly as possible. It was time to reclaim his students.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Scott’s first-hand experience with Kurt and no touch the tail is taken from one of the episodes where Scott pulls Kurt’s tail and Kurt gets all P.O-ed. I believe it’s the one with Forge. I believe it’s also played in the opening sequence.   
> \- Cornelius is a reference to Planet of the Apes.   
> \- Prof X comparing himself to Jean Luc is a nod that Patrick Stewart plays both characters. Hope you caught that. ;)  
> \- As a refresher, Eric Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, helped Prof. X in building Cerebro.


	6. Hell and its Handbasket

** Retrieval of Self: Chapter 6 **

 Dr. Falk watched the liquids in the vials on the table slosh about as he ran his fingers across the neatly racked vials. As he contemplated which serum he would give his blue demon specimen, an occasional hum would lit past his lips. He was in quite a good mood.

 The aforementioned specimen was sitting passively on the examination table, needing no straps or other forms of restraints to prevent him from a timely escape. Falk smiled smugly at that as he continued his perusal of the serums. In the past three weeks, Falk had sucked any hint of spirit out of his demon mutant, resulting in a docile specimen who obeyed all of Falk’s orders.

 Despite the administering of numerous doses of the XfB306 serum and other variants, there had so far been barely any hint of a change in the mutant’s appearance suggesting that the serum was even working. Well, now that Falk had gotten the mutant under his control completely, he supposed that it was time to remove the hindering collar to see if there had been any alternate mutant power manifestations.

  _Still_ , Falk paused his fingers idle play as he thought. _I’d rather administer one more dose of one of the serums, but which one to choose…_

 Falk smirked with success as his eyes fell on the only vial that contained a colored liquid. It was a dull ochre, and it glinted in the light as Falk plucked it from the vial rack. Yes, this would be perfect. The unassuming serum was one of Falk’s more potent serums in the Xf series. A small dose would go a long way in boosting a mutant’s power, or in this case, hopefully jumpstarting the powers. Unfortunately, it also had the same side effects as the other Xf series serums, just more pronounced.

 Not really caring what unpleasant side effects the serum had on his test subject, Falk turned around and approached his blue demon who was looking despondently at his knees.

 “Now then,” Falk began as he placed his chosen vial on the tray beside the examination table. “Shall we test out a little theory before administering a new dose?” Falk asked rhetorically. Looking at the mutant who had yet to meet Falk’s eyes, Falk was satisfied that his specimen was sufficiently cowed. “I think we shall,” Falk’s voice dripped with derision.  

 Kurt looked up through the fringe of his hair and watched as Falk retrieved a set of keys from his pocket. Kurt looked back down quickly to hide any hint of triumph or anticipation that might have passed over his eyes. He wanted to taunt the arrogant Falk that his overconfidence was his weakness. Briefly, Kurt wanted to bash his head against a wall as the unwanted line “your faith in your friends is yours” passed through his head. Obviously, that one geeky guard had permeated into his brain.

 Fumbling with the small key ring, Falk picked the smallest key out of five others, which clinked against each other as they settled at the bottom of the ring.

 Without preamble, Falk unlocked the specimen’s collar and placed it on the side tray along with the vial but returned the key ring to his pocket. Stepping back for a second, Falk, tapping his finger to his chin, scrutinized the mutant, looking for any sudden outward physical changes. Seeing none for far, Falk approached closer.

 “Well, demon? Do you feel any different, any extra power at all?”

 Kurt just shook his head in denial. He really didn’t feel any different. Ever since Falk had been constantly dosing him with that serum, he now constantly felt like he had a small fire burning in his chest. It made Kurt wonder if he was going to have to take buckets full of Tums everyday to keep it under control. But neither that heat nor anything else had changed once Falk removed the collar.

 Falk hmmed as he stared a bit longer at Kurt before turning to the tray. “Looks like we’ll be testing out this new serum then,” Falk said as he picked up the ochre serum as well as a syringe. Turning sideways, he looked askance at the demon. “It’ll have to be just a small dose as it’s very potent, but I’ll keep you for observation afterwards, and you _will_ tell me how you feel. And because of the potency of this, there is no need to mention any side effects, which’ll be – ”

 Kurt half-listened to Falk as he surreptitiously edged his tail over towards the key ring that was peeking out of Falk’s pocket. He nodded obediently to Falk, cautiously keeping his eyes on the scientist. He didn’t dare look down at Falk’s pocket, afraid to give even a hint to what he was doing. He felt his heart racing as his clandestine approach neared fruition. All his passivity and obedience had finally paid off.

 Falk, though, was not so easily fooled. As he had begun filling up the syringe, he noticed out of the corner of his eye his supposedly submissive specimen’s attempt at escape. Though, what the demon planned on doing once capturing the keys was beyond Falk.

Did the mutant really think he was so stupid to remove the collar without taking precautions to protect himself? All around the room, hidden in the walls, were tranquilizer guns pointed towards the specimen, ready to fire if he made any threatening moves toward Falk. Even if he did think he could somehow incapacitate Falk, maybe with some unrevealed power, did he really think he could run all the way back to his friends without resistance?

 Falk’s mind went a mile a minute as he processed his specimen’s actions. Why hadn’t the mutant attacked him first and then grabbed the keys? The mutant couldn’t be trying to hide the keys anywhere, as there was only the sad remains of pants as a place to conceal them.

 Falk glanced quickly back to the syringe he had been filling as he realized he must have overlooked some fact that would lead the mutant to such a foolish act. Maybe the specimen was stupid? Falk didn’t fully register that he had filled the syringe way past his planned dosage and all the way to full throughout his musings. The only thing he had in mind was to stop the specimen from escaping through whatever means at hand.

 Kurt, though, had not seen any suggestion on Falk’s face of the turmoil passing through the scientist’s mind. His tail was almost there. Just a few more inches and he’d have the keys and could teleport away from this unbearable room and vile scientist.

 Just as his tail was about to grasp the keys, Falk spun straight towards him without warning, causing Kurt to lose his grip on the keys. Falk pushed Kurt down back onto the examination table having the upper hand with leverage and waited for one of the numerous tranquilizer guns stored in the walls to unfurl and sedate the test subject. Falk growled angrily as no sounds of a mechanical whirring signifying the opening of the wall met his ears.

 Kurt wasn’t going to just let Falk restrain him, but despite his resistance, he wasn’t able to push Falk off of himself. Still, he couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. This might be his and the other’s only chance at escape, so Kurt refocused himself back on his goal. While Falk fought to bind one of his hands into a restraint connected to the table, Kurt’s tail quickly grabbed the keys from Falk’s lab coat.

 Falk, feeling the weight leave his coat, angrily plunged the syringe still in his hand straight into Kurt’s thigh. The pain, so sharp and sudden, shocked Kurt for a few moments.

 Falk pulled out the empty syringe, a triumphant smile on his face as he stared down at his specimen. Falk’s smile, though, quickly melted off his face, as he saw the mutant look up at him. Falk’s nickname of demon now seemed more apt than ever as the unbridled look of anger and abhorrence transformed the mutant’s expression to a fearful countenance. For the first time since he had worked on Weapon X, Falk feared his test subject.

 Falk, though, did not have anything to fear just yet. However much he wanted to just hurt Falk for everything he had done, Kurt was not going to waste his prime and possibly only opportunity to escape by indulging in foolish desires. With one last fanged, menacing grin, Kurt ported away, keys grasped firmly in his tail.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Scott was pacing in his cell. It was a new habit he picked up in the past few days, and he felt that he could now say without a doubt that he had stepped on every inch of floor in his cell. Scott brushed his hand through his hair as he turned around to take the few steps towards the bars. After what Scott figured had been at least three weeks in Falk’s clutches, he had pretty much given up on any feasible escape plans and was now onto the ridiculous ones. _What could he do, what could he do? I could tell terrible jokes and kill the guards through puns? My wit is mightier than the sword?_

 Scott felt that he was losing his mind if his grand plan was to make a guard groan to death. And who was he kidding? He was terrible at coming up with puns. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again as he decided to cross the cell diagonally. Changing his pacing path was the most entertainment he was getting behind bars. He couldn’t even play tic-tac-toe or write Scott hearts Jean on the wall. Not that he’d ever do that, no.

 Scott glanced at Jean and Logan as he plodded back and forth. He could see from the haggard look on their faces that was surely reflected on his, that they were all feeling ragged, worn down and disheartened. He was especially worried about Kurt because he was getting the brunt of the experiments and looked it too. The glint of humor and vitality that was usually present in Kurt had all but dwindled. Scott also thought there was something odd about Kurt’s appearance – different somehow. Scott just chalked it up to not being used to seeing things without his glasses.

 He sighed again as he looked towards the doors of the room. He knew that the lab techs would be coming to collect him soon. They tended to ignore him when he wasn’t being run through tests, as if he was a mere object to play with. But, it did give him the chance to hear their plans, and yesterday they had congratulated each other as Scott sat on the examination table. It seemed the scientists had finished their preliminary testing on him and were ready to begin whatever enhancements they planned on him today. Scott felt nervous and sick about it, but it’s not like he could do anything about it. So, he continued to pace in his cell.

 For Jean, she had no idea how much time had passed since they had been captured. Kurt was the only one who had been wearing a watch, and it, of course, had been smashed to smithereens. Oddly enough, one of the things she missed since being captured was knowing the time. Her head resting on her arms and back scrunched up against the back wall, Jean looked at her wrist and imagined her battered Mickey Mouse watch on it. Scott had given it to her when they were kids, and she still kept it as one of her treasures.

 Scott, though, was doing everything but endearing himself to her now. With a grumbled sigh, she turned her head away from him because his pacing was driving her mad. If she watched him, her eyes would follow his path back and forth and back and forth. But, if the pacing helped him, she wasn’t going to ask him to stop. She felt like she didn’t have that right after her shameless actions as of late.

 And in the end, her silence when Kurt and Scott had been taken away by the scientists had been for naught. A day or two after Scott had first been dragged out of his cell, they had come for her. It had seemed to Jean that when she had been led out by the scientists, that Scott and Logan’s protests were not as vehement as before. Were they mad at her? Did they realize why she hadn’t protested?

 Jean shut her eyes tightly at the thought of her friends knowing how weak and disloyal she was. Moreover, she was just so scared for her friends and herself. So far all the scientists had done was test her power like Scott. She had tried to use her telepathy on the lab techs as soon as her collar was removed, but it seemed at least the room, if not the whole facility, was protected against her telepathy. She couldn’t breach to where the scientists were standing.

 Jean had no idea what the scientists were ultimately planning on doing to her, but whenever she thought of it, she felt sick to her stomach. She especially hated that one lecherous guard with the roaming hands. It seemed whenever she was led from her cell, he was the one who escorted her to the labs. His hands would linger longer on her arms or caress her back or hair. She despised the guard, but she couldn’t do anything to stop him, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Scott about it.

 Stretching out her legs, Jean looked across her cell to Logan. He was the only one who hadn’t been taken to a lab by the guards. This, though, didn’t seem to be a comforting thought to Logan because each time one of them was taken, he would protest loudly. Jean was still mad at Logan anyway. For whatever reason only known to him, Logan was still picking on Kurt, and it was just getting worse somehow. She had tried admonishing him when it was just them two left in the cells, but something seemed to spark inside Logan anyway that make him fly off the handle.

 “Cyke, if you don’t stop pacing I’m gonna tear your legs off.”

 “Sorry, Logan.” Scott mumbled, and he came to a standstill in the middle of his cell.

 Jean was grateful for a few moments before Scott started tapping his foot against the floor. Seriously, was he trying to drive her batty?

 “Okay, Scott, stop,” Jean said before sighing. “How about you come sit near me?” Jean figured she could perhaps distract Scott enough to prevent him from fidgeting about. Sitting next to her might not be a pleasant experience right now. The scientists hadn’t thought to be so kind as to let them shower since being captured. Jean never realized how much she’d miss rolling on a chalky white stick to her armpits.

 “Alright,” Scott agreed before sitting by the bar cells near Jean.

 “There, that’s better, right? Now just take a – ”

 Scott never got to know what Jean wanted him to do because at that moment Kurt bamfed right into the middle of the hallway.

 “Kurt!” Scott exclaimed as he stood up quickly, surprise written on his face.

 “What? How?” Jean began, having also stood up and approached the bars.

 Kurt wasted no time and began unlocking Logan’s cell immediately. “It seems that Falk has such a big head that only one of us could be in the room,” Kurt commented flippantly.

 “Good job,” Logan said proudly as he looked at Kurt as he cell door swung open. “Now, which one goes to this?” Logan jabbed a finger towards his collar.

 “If it’s a one size fits all, then the smallest one,” Kurt answered as he picked out the smallest key. Kurt leaned forward as he inspected Logan’s collar for the keyhole. With a clink, the collar unlocked. Logan bared a devilish grin before putting one hand on Kurt’s shoulder. With a small squeeze of pride, Logan directed Kurt to open Jean’s cell as he took care of Scott’s.

 Kurt quickly complied and opened Jean’s cell as Logan made short work of the bars to Scott’s cell with his claws.

 Jean impulsively hugged Kurt before trying to assess if he had incurred any injuries while escaping. “How’d you escape?” As she took in his mien, she became worried at how worn he looked. “Are you okay?”

 “Ja, fine,” Kurt reflexively responded before realizing that he couldn’t _not_ tell the others about being overdosed with some strange serum. What would they think if he suddenly had some bad reaction to it? Kurt fumbled with the keys and Jean’s collar while he admitted Falk’s zealous last dose.

 Jean thought Kurt already looked strained and his accent was thick. She grew even more worried, knowing that the full effects of the dose hadn’t kicked in yet. Automatically, she raised her hand and put it on Kurt’s forehead, trying to test for a temperature.

 “Uh, Jean,” Kurt began, looking at her oddly, “I don’t think you can – ”

 The sudden sound of a klaxon blaring interrupted Kurt. Most of the lights turned off and others began flashing red. Kurt thought that whoever designed the alarm system must’ve watched one too many movies. _Really, are the flashing red lights necessary?_

 “Alright, let’s move!” Logan ordered as he sprinted for the door they were originally brought through. He wanted to try and take the posted guards out quickly. Right before he could rip open the door, the door opened to reveal two guards very surprised to see an angry mutant with sharp claws pointed their way. Before the guards could even get over their shock, Logan had dispatched them with a claw through each stomach. The others were shocked, to say the least, at Logan’s brutality.

 To Logan, this was just like his escape from the Weapon X facility all those years ago. His remembrance of his escape as well as his furious state only fueled Logan’s anger. He didn’t want the others killing anyone, but he sure as hell didn’t mind if he did it himself.

 Flicking his claws to rid them of the guards’ blood, Logan turned towards his students. Seeing the stunned looks on their faces, Logan cursed under his breath before he reassessed his thoughts and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He probably really oughtn’t kill anyone with his students around. Chuck would be furious at him for doing so, and Logan really didn’t want the kids to get any ideas from him.

 “Won’t happen again,” Logan said as he gestured to the two fallen guards. “And d _on’t_ any of you do what I just did,” Logan ordered, knowing that for now that would have to be enough; they really couldn’t waste anymore time. “Now,” Logan began as he turned his attention towards their escape, “we’re not out yet. Let’s get moving before any more guards show up.” With that, Logan dashed out the door, followed by his students who made sure not to look down at the slain guards. After a glance both ways down the hallway, they hung a right, remaining on the alert for any guards.

 So far they were in the clear. As they quickly approached an intersection, Logan turned towards Kurt. “You still remember the way back?”

 “Ja, we’ll take not this turn but the next one,” Kurt nodded as he ran alongside Logan. Logan briefly grinned. He was quite pleased that Kurt had been able to orchestrate an escape and still remember the way out. _The kid’s done good._

 Logan briefly glanced over his shoulder at the others. “ Jean,” Logan said as they made a sharp left and continued down the hallway, “keep your mind open to the guards’ locations.”

 Jean nodded, having already found that luckily it was just the testing room and not the whole facility that was protected against her telepathy. “Most guards are coming from the opposite way to the cells. We’re good for right now.”

 Logan nodded in response as he continued to follow Kurt’s directions towards the exit.

 Scott felt quite useless as he ran beside Jean. He couldn’t take off the collar because he didn’t have his visor, but he still had the set of keys that Kurt had stolen in his pocket. He didn’t think he could run down the hallway with his eyes closed, so they remained there. Still, he kept a hand hovering over his pocket. If they got trapped, then he would be ready to help out with an optic blast.

 XXXXXXXXXXXX

 Rogue was back to tapping her foot on the X-jet, impatience screaming through her whole body. It had taken over 3 weeks for Professor Xavier and Forge to upgrade Cerebro, and now the Professor could “see” past any telepathic barriers. Forge had wanted to christen it “Mondo Cool Cerebro,” to which the Professor had said, as placating as he could, that he’d think about it. _Really, Forge needs to catch up on modern slang._ Rogue didn’t think she could handle another night of Kurt returning from hanging out with Forge spouting weird, outdated slang. Though right now she wouldn’t mind hearing some random, what she liked to call, Kurtism, or seeing Scott washing his car in the midday sun (no she certainly wouldn’t mind that), or even having Jean hog the bathroom. Heck, she wouldn’t even mind doing extra DR sessions with Logan. At least it would mean they were all back at the mansion, safe and normal… well as normal as they could be.

 They’d get them back to the mansion soon. When the Professor had announced the success of the upgrade, he’d already found the location of the others. After much hugging and cheering, they went about setting up a plan of attack and rescue. This took another day of scouting from Cerebro and on site at the abandoned facility before the Professor deemed them ready to try the rescue. In the interim, Rogue had barely survived waiting for them to upgrade Cerebro, and she thought she’d lose her mind if they had to delay anymore.

 Of course, Rogue and the others had to practically beg to come with Hank and Ororo on the rescue. They eventually convinced them after swearing they’d follow all of Hank and Ororo’s orders without question, including running away if necessary, and promising they wouldn’t do anything stupid or dangerous. This made Rogue feel guilty for yelling at Kitty for running when Logan ordered them to. She knew it was the right thing to do, but sometimes she couldn’t help but take her anger out on others, and Kitty was a convenient target. Rogue had, albeit still begrudgingly, apologized to Kitty, to which Kitty accepted. _Though none too graciously_. This thought peeved Rogue, and her foot began tapping faster.

 Rogue shot Kitty a glare to Kitty’s back before turning her attention back to the cockpit. Currently, they were flying as fast as they could to land close enough to the targeted building without being detected. Professor Xavier and Forge were both with Mundo CoolCerebro, and the Professor would be guiding them through the facility to theirs friends as soon as they had infiltrated the building.

 With a frustrated sigh, Rogue held back asking any pointless questions on how much longer to go. She thought that she at least was keeping her cool better than Evan who looked like he was about to burst into a flurry of spikes like a blowfish from his pent up anxiety. She couldn’t see Kitty’s face, but she thought if a ponytail could somehow look stressed, Kitty’s was doing it nicely. Hank kept on turning around from the cockpit to look back at them and give encouraging smiles while Ororo flew the X-jet. Rogue was sure that Hank’s smiles were pinched, and they certainly didn’t help her mood. As he turned around again to offer some reassurance, he was interrupted by the Professor’s telepathy.

  _Something has changed._ The Professor’s voice sounded perplexed.

“What’s going on, Charles?” Ororo asked.

_Hm,_ Charles interjected as he concentrated on the missing X-Men’s thoughts, _it seems that our friends have decided to take matters in their own hands and have become their own rescuers._

“Oh, well this does put a damper on our plans now,” Hank looked down at his detailed schematics of attack and escape forlornly.

  _I’ll keep you abreast on their movements, and adjust your course accordingly to rendezvous with them. They’ll need your help._

“Understood,” Ororo replied as she continued their course towards the dilapidated building.

 Rogue leaned back in her chair, feeling renewed hope now that she knew her friends were on the move too. With them working together, there’d be no way they could be stopped again.

 XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Scott was grateful that the DR sessions kept him in such great shape. They’d been running for awhile now, and Scott knew that he’d have collapsed by now if not for the arduous sessions. They’d gone up a flight of stairs and passed through numerous hallways with Kurt pointing them in the right direction. Jean had called out several times, announcing the presence of approaching guards. Luckily, they had always been able to duck down an alternate hallway before getting back on track.

 Currently, though, they had slowed down incrementally. At first, Scott didn’t notice their changed pace, but when he did, he began to see why. As he watched Logan and Kurt run in front of him, he noticed that Kurt would sometimes trip over his feet or weave a bit to the side, like he was drunk. At some point, Kurt had switched from running flat out on all fours to running just normally. Logan must’ve noticed that something was up with Kurt and had slowed up the pace. Scott hoped they were near their point of escape, but even if they did escape the building, they’d still have to make a run for it through the woods. Scott wanted to pull out his hair in frustration and anxiety.

 “There’s a large group of men gathering in that direction,” Jean informed them as she pointed in the guards’ general direction. “I think they’re waiting for us.”

 “ _Scheisse,_ that’s where we need to go.” Kurt right now wanted nothing more than to pass out. He was really starting to feel the effects of the new serum, and he already felt ten times worse than he did after being given the other shots. He was having a hard time concentrating on the task at hand; his mind felt all fuzzy, like a giant cotton ball. He also figured that if he got any hotter he’d be able to cook an egg right on his tongue.

 “They must be tryin’ to cut off all the closest exits,” Logan mumbled as he tried to come up with a new plan. There was no way they could bust through a group of guards, especially if they were armed with tranq guns again. “Alright, change of plans.” Logan said as he veered down another hallway before stopping them. “Are we in the clear, Jean?”

 “Nobody is too close right now.”

 Logan nodded before turning to Kurt. “Okay, which way is directly opposite from the cells, Elf?” Logan’s first goal was to build as much distance between the guards and themselves.

 “South,” Kurt pointed perpendicular to the hallway to show which way as he leaned against the wall to rest. He wished that someone would just shut the damn alarm off. The sound and the flashing lights just somehow intensified everything he was feeling, making him wish he could just find some dark, silent room where he could curl up and sleep.

 “Good, we’ll for now head south and as far away from most of the guards as possible,” Logan ordered. “And keep your eyes peeled for any means of escape.”

 They were off again. The facility seemed endless, but the further they went, the more the rooms they passed became dilapidated. Obviously, Falk’s operations were not yet expansive, but it worried Logan that Falk could someday be using all of these rooms to experiment on mutants. As soon as they escaped, Logan would have to get the Professor to agree to plan an attack on the facility. They couldn’t let it continue to operate.

 “Stop!”

 Everyone came to a crashing halt as Jean yelled out in warning.

 “There’s a group of guards coming towards us.” She pointed in the exact direction they were heading.

 “We backtrack,” Logan directed. They had to escape undetected if possible.

 As they turned around to go back the way they had just come, Jean let out another warning to stop. “Another group is headed in our direction from that way to meet up with the other group! We can’t avoid them now.”

 Logan growled in frustration. He looked at Kurt who was leaning against a wall again, looking ready to pass out. They really couldn’t afford to run into these guards.

 “Then we hide in one of these rooms,” Scott said as he tried to open one of the hallway doors. _Damn, locked._

 “Move aside, Cyke. I’ll bust it open.” Logan unsheathed his claws and approached the door.

 “Logan, stop,” Scott said, standing unmoving in front of the door. “If you busted the lock, then the guards would notice something.”

 Logan grimaced but complied. “Right, then Jean – ”

 “I’m on it!” Jean had already started concentrating to try and unlock the door from the other side with her telekinesis. The groups of guards were getting closer and would be on them very soon. Pushing her worry aside, she focused just on opening the door.

 “There!”

 Wasting no time, Scott opened the now unlocked door and rushed everyone inside. As quickly and as softly as he could, he closed the door and relocked it. He crouched down beside Logan and Jean, hidden from the view of the small window in the door.

 They waited with bated breath for the sound of the guards to go stomping past. They didn’t have to wait long at all. Within a few moments of them ducking into the what appeared to Scott to be a storage closet, they heard the clomping of the men get louder and then eventually fade to nothing.

 After the group had passed, Logan turned to Jean to see if they were in the clear. Jean nodded as she put her hand down from her head.

 “They met up with the other group and are marching further off.”

 “Good,” Logan responded, glad for the respite and for the muffled sounds of the siren. The closet was dark and the only light was leaked in every other second from the hallway through the small window on the door. The red flashes of light cast their features into a strange light, as if they were in some submarine miles under the sea instead of a storage closet. Logan looked back at Kurt who had immediately gone to the back wall once the door was opened and collapsed. He wasn’t sure if Kurt was going to be able to handle much more running.

 His back against the wall, Kurt was resting his head on his arms that were in turn resting on top of his knees. Everything was just so, so hot to him. He felt like a furnace, and his muscles and joints felt so tired and painful, Kurt could’ve sworn he’d aged 100 years in the past several minutes. Closing his eyes, Kurt tried to block out the pain.

 Jean shared a worried look with others. “He must be feeling that shot now.” When the others gave her perplexed looks, she realized they didn’t know what had happened before Kurt had escaped Falk. “Guys, this might be serious,” Jean related to them. “Falk injected Kurt with too much of some strong serum before Kurt teleported out.”

 A look of anger passed over Logan’s face before worry took its place. “Shit,” Logan said as he punched the ground. Not only did he have to worry about them escaping, but now he had to worry about Kurt and what effects the serum might have. He wanted to get Kurt looked over by Hank as soon as possible. “We need to find the quickest and safest escape route. Jean – ”

 Jean turned her attention back to Logan as he addressed her.

 “I want you to scan several of the guards’ minds and glean as much info from them as you can. Look for possible exits, and less guarded areas.”

 Jean nodded as she put her hand up to her head again to carry out Logan’s orders. Logan knew that he was asking a lot out of Jean. The task would be difficult for her, but he knew he could rely on her to come through.

 Meanwhile, Scott had approached Kurt, and had called out his name with no response. He knelt down beside Kurt and was about to call out to him when Kurt mumbled something.

 “What?” Scott didn’t understand what he had said. “Kurt, are you – ?”

 “ _Heiss_.”

 “Um, not really.” Scott thought it was odd Kurt was speaking German, and that it was actually quite cold throughout the building. “But I…” Scott leaned in and realized Kurt had his eyes closed, “…think you need to wake up now.” Scott leaned in and gently shook Kurt, but he didn’t open his eyes.

 “ _Zu heiss_ ,” Kurt said softly.

 “Guys,” Scott turned back to the others, trepidation threading his voice, “I think I need some help here. I can’t get Kurt to respond to me.”

 Logan had been keeping an eye on Scott and Kurt while waiting for Jean’s findings, but now he moved to hunker down beside Scott. Jean also looked up at Scott’s call and immediately stopped her search to join them.

 “What’s wrong, Scott?”

 “I dunno,” Scott looked at Jean, worried and confused. “I tried waking him, but it’s like he’s caught in a bad dream or something.”

 “ _Bitte_ ,” Kurt’s voice recaptured Scott’s attention. Scott noticed that Kurt was sitting stiffly, as if he was restrained and couldn’t move. “ _Stop, bitte_.” One thing was for sure, Scott was for once glad he’d decided to take German in school.

 “Alright, I’m stopping this.” Logan had no idea what was going on, but he certainly didn’t want Kurt to get louder and attract the guards. “All he needs is a good shake” Logan moved towards Kurt, but was stopped by a hand.

 “Really now, Logan. I think we can be a bit kinder than that,” Jean said as she took her hand off of him.

 “Fine, then what’s your way.” Logan crossed his arms as he continued to look at Kurt who was still sporadically pleading something in German.

 Jean shared a quick exasperated roll of her eyes at Logan with Scott. Sometimes Logan just didn’t see the subtle side of things. “I can just sort of poke him with my telepathy.” Jean explained as she closed her eyes to concentrate. “Hold on a sec.”

As she delved into Kurt’s mind, what she saw and felt shocked her so much she lost her concentration and had to pull back out.

 “What’s wrong, Jean?” Scott asked, worry tingeing his voice.

 “He’s not dreaming, not really,” Jean stared as her hands clenched into fists as what she saw sunk in. “It’s more of a memory, and god -” Jean stopped as everything became clear to her. She knew that she wasn’t fully trained in shielding her mind, especially when she was sleeping. One time she woke up with the oddest sensation of wanting a cigar and a desire to watch the University of Michigan play football. But, she had always wondered why sometimes she would wake up in terror, feeling as if she was being… “Burned alive,” she whispered, and then looked at Logan with shock on her face. “They were going to burn him alive!”

 “Wait, what?” Scott asked, confused and troubled.

 Logan, though, knew exactly what Jean was talking about, and he wasn’t about to let it continue. “We end this now. Jean, wake him up.”

 Jean nodded and closed her eyes to brace herself as she reentered Kurt’s mind. It didn’t take Jean long, and with a gasp, Kurt opened his eyes. Logan was right there, grabbing his shoulders to draw Kurt’s attention to him. Logan knew how Kurt had escaped from the fervid flames back in Germany, and he didn’t want to risk having Kurt teleport randomly in confusion and fear.

 “Elf, look at me. You know where you are?”

 Kurt drew in a shaky breath as his mind reoriented itself. Not really hearing Logan’s question, Kurt nodded anyway, the familiar nickname clearing away the lingering fog, and slowly the absolute terror he was feeling ebbed away. He didn’t know what was worse, his mind’s decision to reenactment one of his worst days of his life, or the way his body felt right now. He didn’t really consider himself a masochist, but today might be the exception. Shaking that random thought away, he rubbed his eyes to erase all traces of his dream from his mind.

 He really didn’t want to look up at the others. He knew that it was Jean who pulled him out of his dream; her familiar touch still lingered in his mind. He had seriously thought that his friends would never find out about that horrid night. Looks like blind optimism had taken a precipitate dive off a cliff without a parachute. And Logan, well he hadn’t removed his hands from his shoulders yet, and Logan was never this demonstrative with his feelings. At least he already knew about what had happened. Kurt sure as hell wasn’t going to look up at Scott to see if he also now knew. He didn’t want to see the pity or shock in any of their eyes. So, Kurt kept his eyes closed to delay the inevitable as long as possible.

 Logan looked to the others as Kurt recovered but kept one hand on Kurt’s shoulder for support. “ _Don’t_ mention this to the others.” Logan just added this to his list of things he would have to deal with but really didn’t want to when they got back to the mansion. Right now he’d rather just have all their memories wiped; that’d be the easiest but cowardly thing to do. Why did everything have to go to hell in a handbasket at the same time? There was no time, though, to continue hiding in the closet. Inevitably, they would be found, and Logan had rather be gone before then. “We leave, now,” Logan ordered. “Jean.”

 Jean was exhausted having been almost constantly using her telepathy to scan for guards as they escaped and now to wake up Kurt, but she wasn’t going to complain. She gathered up her energy to complete the task she originally set out to do.

 As they waited anxiously for her to finish, Scott turned to Kurt, not really knowing quite what to say. “Um, how’re you holding up?”

 “Okay,” Kurt replied tiredly without any conviction in his voice as he leaned his head against his arm and looked up at Scott.

 Scott was momentarily stunned upon seeing Kurt’s eyes. Instead of the usual yellow pupils, the whole of Kurt’s eyes were a solid, glowing gold.

 “ _Vas_?” Kurt asked, worried about Scott’s reaction.

 “Um, nothing.” Scott looked down then glanced back up at Kurt. “It’s just…I think the serum might be kicking in,” he finished in a rush.

 Kurt’s eyes widened at that alarming declamation but before he could ask what Scott was talking about, Jean announced she’d found a possible escape route.

 “The Star Wars guard!” Before the others could interject with groans at the mention of the annoying guard she continued, “he and four other guards were assigned to guard a small garage while everyone else gathers in that way.” She pointed in the general direction to where they had just come from.

 “How far is it from here?”

 “Not too far. We just need to keep heading the way we’re heading basically,” Jean explained to Logan. “And there aren’t too many guards in between, so hopefully we won’t have any problems.”

 “Good.” Logan nodded in Jean’s direction. “Jean, you take the lead, and keep us aware of any nearby guards. We don’t want another close call.” Logan then turned to Scott and Kurt, “Scott, you and – ” Logan paused as he saw Kurt’s eyes, and could see that Jean was equally taken aback as she followed his gaze. _Hell, meet the fucking handbasket_. There wasn’t much he could do about that now. Taking in the rest of Kurt’s tired and exhausted posture, he knew that there would be no way that Kurt could continue on his own. “Right, Scott, you take care of Kurt and stay in the middle, and I’ll take rear.” Logan stood up first, ready to bust through the door.

 Jean was already scanning for any guards that might approach the hallway as they exited. So far they were in the clear.

 “Why don’t you get on my back?” Scott said to Kurt as he presented his back for access.

 Kurt nodded, knowing it would be futile to protest, and not really wanting to anyways. Kurt put his arms around Scott’s neck and laid against Scott’s back, hoping Scott wouldn’t mind if he just fell asleep right then and there. Scott did make a nice pillow.

 In one swoop, Scott stood up and after a few minor adjustments, they were set. If it was another situation, Scott probably would’ve found it amusing that he was giving Kurt what was basically a piggy-back ride. Jean did shoot him a brief, amused smile before turning back to looking out the small window in the door.

 Logan turned and pointed to Scott, “and don’t you let him,” Logan said as his finger slide over to point at Kurt, “fall asleep. We don’t want any accidental teleporting.” After receiving a nod from both, Logan got ready to open the door. “Let’s move.”

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- So the whole “faith in your friends is yours [weakness]” is, yes, a Star Wars quote. From Revenge of Jedi. It’s the whole Emperor v. Luke: Scene Let’s Banter First. With all these quotes from SW, you’d think I was a huge fan.
> 
> \- Okay, I tried with the German with multiple online German dictionaries for context, but none really were that helpful. So, if you know German and spot a mistake, I’ll fix it. 
> 
> -And Jean waking up and wanting to watch Michigan play football was a poke at Michigan’s mascot, the wolverine.


	7. A Not So Smooth Escape

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Retrieval of Self: Chapter7**

Logan opened the door as silently as possible. He’d rather tug it open with a huge jerk and watch it imbed itself into the wall, but right now stealth was more important than any healthy venting of frustration. Maybe later he could find a guard and beat him into a bloody pulp.

As soon as Logan opened the door, the blaring sound of sirens hit their ears, and they were all momentarily blinded by the intensity of the red flashing light compared to the darkness of the closet. Logan put a hand up to his head, rubbing at his temple. The small headache that had started to form ever since the start of their escape intensified with the added sensory into a pounding pain. He could see the others groaning at the loud claxon, and he saw Kurt close his eyes and bury his head into Scott’s shoulder. Logan went over and put a hand to Kurt’s shoulder, drawing his attention. He was sure that the flashing lights and sound made Kurt feel even worse, but right now it was more important that Kurt kept awake. As Kurt looked up over at him, Logan gave a quick jerk of his head. Satisfied at Kurt’s sigh and small nod of understanding, Logan gestured for Jean to lead the way.

They went as silently and as fast as they could, their pace quite noticeably slower now that Scott was carrying Kurt. Jean led as best as she could to the location of the guards she had heard earlier. It was tough, not knowing the layout of the hallways, but she was sure they were getting closer and closer to the garage; the guards’ thoughts were getting progressively easier to make out. She could taste freedom on the tip of her tongue. She would’ve loved to run flat out straight to the exit, out of this horrible place, but besides Scott’s slowed pace, she had to concentrate on locating any guards that might be between them and their escape. She could hear Scott talking to Kurt about something, but she blocked them out, concentrating all her attention on getting them out without any more close calls. She wasn’t going to slip and fail her friends again.

Knowing that Logan’s order to not let Kurt fall asleep was prudent considering what just happened in the storage closet, Scott figured the best way to keep Kurt awake was to engage him in conversation. Besides, it had the added bonus of letting Scott know that Kurt had definitely not passed out on him. It’s not like Scott had eyes in the back of his head to tell him when Kurt closed his eyes. He hadn’t eaten any strange walnuts.

But, he could tell just how tired Kurt must be feeling by the boneless way Kurt was laying against his back. Scott figured it was time to put his plan in action. It was just kinda hard, though, to find a topic of choice. It wasn’t like they were yakking at school during lunch. Well, Scott guessed he might as well pretend they were. He could taste the school’s cafeteria “surprise” on his lips. Sure, it always seemed scary the way it would jiggle on the plate, but after weeks of gruel, Scott bet it taste like the finest ambrosia.

“So, um, Kurt,” Scott began, then stopped. Really, was talking to Kurt about food right now the best…especially since Kurt was on his back. Scott cringed thinking of how drawing Kurt’s mind to food might have consequences on Scott’s t-shirt.

“Ja?” came the tired and strained reply.

Scott searched his mind for a quick question. “So, how are classes going for you?” _Argh, really, that’s all I could come up with._ Scott wanted to hit his head. Kurt must think he was loony.

And Kurt did make a bemused expression for a second, wondering why Scott was asking now of all times on how his classes were going. After a few more seconds, Kurt’s muddled mind realized what Scott was trying to do. Kurt did appreciate Scott’s help at keeping him engaged in their escape, but he really didn’t feel like making conversation. He had a hard enough time trying to keep his eyes open. He’d rather just concentrate on imagining cool rivers and ice cold lemonade, anything to take his mind off of the fire in his chest or the jackhammer in his head. Or the feeling in his stomach or the ache- maybe it was better not to concentrate on everywhere he was hurting. With a sigh, he answered Scott, “yeah, they’re fine.”

Scott let out a frustrated sigh. Couldn’t Kurt work with him here? “Er, how about you tell me about them a bit more?”

Knowing that Scott would never give up on a plan once he started, Kurt resigned himself to his fate. With a frown, he concentrated on gathering his scattered thoughts. Well, at least the conversation should keep his thoughts off the pain. “Well, I think my History teacher liked my paper.”

“Oh, that’s great.” Scott said as he hung right around a corner behind Jean. “What’d you write about?”

“Tulips.”

“Um… okay,” Scott frowned puzzled. Worry seeped in that Kurt had completely lost his hold on reality and had escaped in his mind to a field of tulips. Scott didn’t realized Kurt liked tulips that much. Well, at least he was getting some reply from Kurt, so he continued his questions. “How about your other classes? Doesn’t your English teacher have it out for you?”

“Ja, he does,” Kurt replied vehemently. Kurt figured rather than getting 20 questions from Scott, he could engage in a favorite pastime and started ranting about his evil English teacher. That way, Scott would be appeased to hear Kurt talking and Kurt could let his mind drift as he let his mouth do the talking.

Scott was pleased. Kurt was making sense again, easing his worries about the state of Kurt’s mind and tulips. Also, now that he didn’t have to come up with anymore questions, he could focus on following Jean and keeping hold of Kurt. His arms were already beginning to ache, but he knew he would never let go. His arms would have to fall off first before that happened. Scott just hoped it didn’t come to that point. He didn’t think Hank had the technology to reattach arms.

Meanwhile, Logan was hanging back behind the others, protecting the rear. Logan didn’t show it, but his hopes were high for their escape. He trusted Jean and knew that she’d pull through for them. He just hoped they didn’t meet much resistance on the way. Though he’d preferred if they ran as quietly as possible, he figured Scott’s approach was the best way to keep Kurt awake, and they probably weren’t very audible over the blaring siren. If Logan couldn’t make out what they’re saying, then it’s unlikely a nearby guard would.

After running down several more hallways, Logan thought that maybe their luck had changed for the better. So far, so good. No guards in sight and –

 _Logan, there’s two guards about to turn down the hallway we just came from._ Logan grimaced. He knew he shouldn’t have started feeling optimistic. Optimism is only for people who actually want to drink the water. He’d rather have a beer.

 _Got it. I’ll head them off. You keep leading the way._ And with that, Logan quickly turned and headed back down the hallway. In a quick sprint, he made it to the corner where the two hallways met, and flattened himself against the wall. He’d take the guards by surprise. _They’ll never know what’s coming to them_. Logan smirked, ready for some action and some punching bags to take out his anger a few seconds. He could hear their shoes tapping on the floor as they rushed down the hallway. Logan barred a ferocious grin then started to slide his claws out before reminding himself of the kids’ reactions when he had killed the guards at the cells. The looks on their faces was enough to cool his temper some, and one thing for sure, he wasn’t going to break his promise to them. Besides, his fists would do enough damage.

Clenching his fists tight, Logan tensed as the guards grew closer. _Any second now_. As if a signal, one of the guards sneezed, marking his exact location. _One more second._

Now! With a leap, Logan spun around the corner and planted his fist straight in the face of one of the surprised guards. The other guard was so shocked at the attack, he just stared slack jawed for a second before a fist crashed into his face. The first guard, bleeding from a broken nose, had recovered quickly and started to bring up his gun before a solid punch to the gut knocked the wind out of him. He collapsed onto his knees, and dropped his gun to grab his aching stomach. Logan turned again just in time to catch the gun of the other guard before it hit his head. A look of malice passed Logan’s face before the guard met with excruciating pain via a knee to his groin. The comical look on the guard’s face as he clutched at his groin was satisfying to Logan.

With a few more punches and kicks, Logan had incapacitated the guards in just a few seconds. Reaching down, Logan divested the guards of their walky-talkies and guns and with much relish, slammed his foot down on top of them. This time he did unsheathe his claws and turned the guns into a six piece set. He turned back to the unconscious guards and spat at them, “you’re the animals here, bubs,” before running to catch up with the others.

Scott hadn’t even noticed that Logan had disappeared by the time Logan returned. Scott was concentrating too much on holding Kurt up and following Jean. Scott was still “talking” to Kurt too, though talking could only be used in the loosest sense of the word. At some point, Kurt had started mixing German into his speech, which was already hard to understand with his heavy accent. Even if Scott was taking German in school, his mind was a bit preoccupied to try and translate words. Besides, it’s not like Scott considered himself even half-way decent at the language, he just didn’t have the mind for languages. So, the conversation had turned into Scott nodding or pretending he knew what Kurt was saying. At least Kurt kept talking about… well whatever it was. Hopefully not tulips.

Kurt, actually, didn’t really have any idea what he was talking about either. At some point, it seemed that his mouth and brain disconnected, and while he talked away, his mind was concentrating on not feeling so dizzy and trying to stop himself from wanting to claw out of his skin. His toes kept clenching and unclenching and his tail was squeezing his leg, anything to drive away the pain. His hands had grabbed hold of his arms which were thrown around Scott’s neck and began tightening.

“Kurt,” Scott chocked out, “need to breathe here.”

Some part of Kurt’s mind must’ve still been aware because the chokehold he had around Scott loosened. But, it must not have been too aware because instead of an apology issuing forth, Kurt asked, “don’t you think the lights are too Hollywood-ish?”

“Er, what? What are you talking about?”

“I think so too,” was the only answer Scott received. After that, Kurt started prattling off in complete German, leaving Scott completely perplexed.

After more bleak hallways, Jean raised her hand and brought them to a halt. Her mind was exhausted. She had probably already passed the normal limits of her strength, but she kept on pushing herself. They _had_ to escape now. Jean wouldn’t accept any other outcome. Perhaps her strength came from her guilt over her feelings and reactions since their capture, but she didn’t care where the source came from, just as long as she could keep going. With some strain, she focused her thoughts onto the guards. The guards’ thoughts were now crystal clear in her mind. There were five of them guarding some vehicles. One of them kept wishing how he could take the armored van out for a spin and see if he could do donuts in it. The other guards seemed to be focused on their task, eyes peeled towards the sole entrance to the garage. Except… wait. Jean swerved her mind back to one other guard there. She almost wanted to burst out laughing, hearing such thoughts in such a tense situation.

It was that young recruit again. He was still thinking in Star Wars terms, but this time Jean actually found the thoughts insightful and hopefully beneficial to them. Seemed that the kid was doubting whether he really was serving on Skywalker’s side. That maybe Dr. Falk and Leader Kemp were the Emperor and Darth Vader in disguise. The kid was having quite a mental break down over his dilemma. Jean wasn’t going to be picky over any type of help they could get, and hopefully when they burst into the room, the kid would hesitate to attack.

As Jean was preoccupied, Scott had lowered himself and Kurt to the ground, and had turned to face Kurt. As soon as Kurt hit the floor, he stopped his ongoing babbling, and rubbed a hand across his face, trying to focus on the now. Everything seemed to be coming through muffled, like he was underwater. With effort, Kurt concentrated on Scott’s lips, trying to make out the words Scott was saying to him. Eventually, they got through.

“-okay? No more talking, but you still gotta stay awake.”

Kurt nodded his head to show he understood, not wanting to speak anymore anyway. It was taking too much effort already to keep his mind focused on the present.

Scott squeezed his shoulder and gave a tight smile. He turned his head away when Jean turned back to them.

Jean crouched down to them and Logan followed her lead. She could’ve relayed the information all through telepathy, but she wanted to conserve as much energy as she could for their rush at the guards. Instead, she spoke low and told them of what she had read.

Logan grunted in approval. “Alright, Jean keep a look out as we go over a plan. Here’s how it’s gonna go down.” Logan looked to each of them, making sure that they were all paying rapt attention to him, particularly Kurt, before continuing. “Jean, you got enough energy to do a bit of telekinesis?” At Jean’s nod, Logan explained. “Right, then me and Jean are gonna head closest to the entrance first. Jean, you try and pull as many of their guns away as you can. Next, I’ll go in and knock out as many as I can.” Logan turned to Scott, “Cyclops, you stay with Kurt crouched near the entrance. If all else fails, then bring out that beam of yours.”

“Right.” Scott was feeling useless again. He couldn’t even back up the team without his visor unless they wanted him to unleash his full power and blast half the room away. He clenched his fists in frustration.

“We ain’t gonna be able to stop them from calling on backup, so our goal is _not_ to kick all their asses… no matter how much I want to,” Logan added under his breath. “Our goal is to get to the van, hijack it and get the hell outta here. Understood? No heroics or revenge.” Logan got three nods.

“Alright then, Kurt –” Logan got a tired gaze in return. Logan still found it eerie at the drastic change to Kurt’s eyes and worried about what other changes the serum might be having, but he had to brush that worry aside for now. He could see that Kurt was having a hard time focusing, and he didn’t want to add anymore strain to him, but Logan had to ask this of him. Logan knew that with all of them at full strength, they’d still have a difficult time escaping if more guards showed up. Now, with all of them tired and weak from their imprisonment, he needed as much as everyone could give. “You think you can run any?” A weak nod. “Good, then Scott, you stay close to Kurt, and you both run in when the guards are down. Everyone keep an eye out for car keys. We won’t have time to hot wire.” Logan could see everyone was ready. “Right, we got one shot at this. Just remember this –” everyone perked up at Logan’s commanding voice, “-we’re the best at what we do.” Logan let loose a fearsome grin, and got equally determined looks in return.

Jean led them a little further down the hall, and gestured to show that once they turned the corner, they’d be in vision with the guards. Logan nodded and unsheathed his claws. He’d have to be careful with where he hit the guards, but right now they needed all possible weapons on their side. With another nod, Logan signaled Jean.

Jean steadied herself, then as quick as possible, turned to take a look at the guards’ positions and where the guns where. Immediately, turning back, Jean raised her hands to her head and with an intense look on her face, pulled at the guns she had seen. As soon as two guns came clattering towards them, Logan spun around the corner and with a ferocious roar, ran towards the men. He looked quickly to see who had guns still left in their hands and careened towards them.

The guards were caught so off guard, Logan was able to quickly cover ground and knock a gun out of a guard’s hands. This guard, though, wasn’t a pushovers like the others Logan had faced before. The man recovered quickly and was throwing mean kicks before Logan could even finish cutting the tranq gun in half.

Jean also didn’t waste anytime to join the fray. She had run in after Logan, quickly throwing her all at stopping any tranq bullets that were flying towards Logan. She could see out of the corner of her eye that the green recruit still had his gun, but was standing there, looking unsure of what to do. Jean couldn’t wait for him to decide which side to fall in line with, so with a strong push from her mind, she knocked the recruit off his feet, crashing him into boxes several feet behind him.

The remaining guard with a gun was trying to take advantage of her and Logan’s distraction and had taken aim in his direction. The first shot missed as Logan followed through on one of his punches to his opponent. The second shot grazed Logan’s back, adding a cut to Logan’s white wifebeater. Before he could get another shot off, Jean used her mind to hurl the guard across the room, causing him to drop his gun. This gave Logan enough time to quickly finish dispatching the guard he was fighting and moved on to one of the unarmed guards. Jean could feel high hopes swelling up in her chest, and she turned to the remaining guard and used her telekinesis to throw him against the wall. He hit it with a loud crunch, and slumped down to the floor. Maybe this would be easier than they thought.

Scott and Kurt were crouching near the doorway. Scott kept twirling the keyring to his collar on his fingers, anxious to help. He was impressed, though, at how quickly Jean and Logan took down the guards. There were now only two guards left and both were engaged with Logan and Jean. Scott decided now would be the time to make his and Kurt’s move into the garage, but before they could take one step, the sound of heavy running boots came to their ears. It seemed like backup had been called. Kurt and Scott exchanged a look before shooting up and running into the garage. Seeing Kurt’s staggering gait, Scott kept a hand on Kurt’s shoulder, being sure to keep him steady. They scanned the garage, looking for any place where the keys might be stored, but before they could complete even one scan, the backup had arrived.

Scott turned quickly to the entrance and saw about twenty men racing towards the fray, all armed with tranquilizer guns. Scott could see despair cross Kurt’s face and knew his own probably reflected just as much. He had no idea how they would ever cope with so many. He began fingering the key ring, flipping to the smallest key. He still hesitated to take off his collar, though. A blast from his eyes could certainly take out all the guards… as well as half the room. The key to the van could be lost in the rubble or the whole room could become unstable. He didn’t know whether to risk it or not. He could feel Kurt crouching down behind him as if seeing these guards had sucked out all of his hope. Scott decided then he had to risk it. There was no way he was going to let Kurt, let his friends be taken back to that dismal cell.

Just as he was about to unlock his collar, a huge, sudden wave of energy blasted across the room, and all the guns went flying out the guards’ hands. The sound of twenty guns scattering across the floor filled the room. Scott, mouth agape, turned in surprise to Jean. She was down on one knee, her hand clutching her head as if in pain.

Jean looked up and gave a grimaced smile towards Scott. She had put everything she had into that one move to give them some possibility to escape. She was so exhausted now, and she felt as if her heart was beating so fast, it would explode under the pressure. She watched as Logan gave her a tight nod and then turn to the guards, taking them on head to head. Jean might not be able to use her powers, but she could still put up a mean fight. After all, Logan had trained them well. She took a few staggering steps before regaining her strength. She went straight at one of the guards, letting furious kicks and punches fly. The guards were not easy pushovers, though. They weren’t incompetent enough to take her on one by one. With a rush, three of them ran towards her, ready to pile on top of her. With one large sweep of her leg, Jean took them all down. She knew, though, they weren’t going to last long in this battle. She had only taken the three down, and still more ran in to take their place.

Scott watched as Jean struggled with the guards. He wanted to help her out, but he also didn’t want to leave Kurt unprotected. There was no way Kurt was going to be able to take down even one single guard in his shape. So he stood there, hesitating, a strained look on his face.

Kurt could feel Scott’s indecision radiating off of him, but right now Kurt had other things on his mind. As soon as he saw the guards, Kurt knew there was no way that they’d be able to take them all. Their only chance was to commandeer the van and hightail it out. So, he was frantically scanning the room for the keys while the others fought off the guards. As his eyes passed by the left wall again, he saw them there, dangling. He didn’t know how he missed them before, but he didn’t care. Kurt stood up and with a push, shoved Scott towards the battle. Scott turned to him surprised, his mouth opening as if to say something.

“I see the keys. Go help them!” Kurt said before Scott could get a word in.

Scott looked hesitant, worried about leaving Kurt’s side.

“Go!” Kurt ordered with another strong push. Scott nodded and took off to help Jean.

Jean was so tired and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she went down underneath the guards. She could feel bruises and cuts forming from where the guards had gotten in several good hits. One guard had punched her right across her face. She had given him as good in return with a solid punch to his liver, but now her face seemed to throb in time with her heart. Just as one guard rushed at her, coming in low for a hard hit to the stomach, Scott appeared, pushing the guard roughly away. He grinned at her as he put his back to hers.

“Need some help?”

Jean tried to smile in return, but they just made her jaw hurt even more, so she settled on smirking. “My hero.” At least now they had a better chance of defending themselves. She just hoped that either Kurt or Logan had time to locate the keys because she didn’t have a moment to spare to look for them.

Scott and her worked together in synch. Having worked out together so long in the Danger Room, they knew how to complement each other’s fighting style. Jean took one guard out with a low kick to the leg then followed by a high kick to the head. She then quickly switched places with Scott, so he could finish her guard off with a powerful upper punch and she could take his guard out with a kick to the chest. They were slowly taking the guards out together.

As soon as Scott had joined Jean, Kurt hadn’t wasted anytime. He ran straight over to the keys. All he wanted to do when he got to the keys was lean against the wall and pass out. Just that short little run had taken a harder toll on him than he thought possible, but Kurt just shook his head, keeping his pain under tight wraps. Escape was all that mattered. Luckily, it seemed this garage was not that heavily in use. There were only two sets of keys hanging off hooks. Kurt had no idea which set belonged to which of the two vehicles, so he grabbed both. He turned around just in time to watch a guard run straight at him and crash him into the wall. Kurt hit the wall hard, and he thought he could see black spots dance in front of his eyes. But, he still kept a tight hold on the keys. There was no way he was going to give them up. He slowly sank onto his hands and knees, trying to blink his vision clear. Meanwhile, the guard looked down at him in disgust.

“You ain’t gonna escape, ya mutie,” the guard sneered as he flicked out a knife he had hidden on himself.

Kurt could hear the telltale signs of a knife, and looked up to see the guard looming over him with a malicious look on his face. Kurt knew he would be too slow to dodge any thrust towards him. He certainly knew he didn’t have enough power to catch any blow coming towards him. So, with no recourse left, Kurt drew in any remaining energy reserves he had and teleported away.

The guard was shocked. Not because the mutant had teleported away. The guard had known about that little skill from over the walky-talkies. It was the leaping flames along with the cloud of smoke left behind that surprised him. The guard had been moving forward to stab the mutant when the kid had teleported, and though the flames and smoke was dissipating, he couldn’t stop his arm fast enough from entering the flames. With a loud scream, the guard watched as the flames danced across his sleeve, and he started waving his arm around, trying desperately to put them out.

Logan had been fighting hard, and staying quick on his toes to block any guard from diving towards their guns across the room. So far, he had held them back. At the same time, he had kept his eye on Jean, making sure she was handling her own. He had been relieved and worried at the same time when Scott had joined Jean. Relieved that Jean had received the backup she needed and worried about Kurt being left alone. He had darted his eyes to find Kurt and was at first pleased to see Kurt grabbing the keys; but, his satisfaction soon turned to a terrible dread as he saw the guard approach Kurt from behind. There was no way he could get there in time. He had desperately tried to fight his way over there, and he felt his stomach drop out when the guard pulled the knife. This feeling was soon quickly followed by a cool wave of shock and concern. Shock from Kurt’s strange and fiery teleportation and worry when he saw that Kurt had reappeared by the vans, unmoving.

Luck, though, was with them. The guard’s screams had quickly drawn everyone’s attention, and there was a pause in the battle. Logan caught Jean’s and Scott’s eyes and gestured for them to run to the vans and Kurt. Logan then took advantage of the guards’ shock and ran over towards the alit guard. Taking a hold of the guard’s collar, he threw him towards the others, catching them all off balance. This gave him time to punch several buttons that were next to the keys, turning them all from red to green. He hoped that he was correct in guessing these would open the garage doors. He grinned when he heard the cranking of the doors and took off towards the van.

By then, Scott had found the correct key to the armored vehicle and was helping Jean lift Kurt into the back seat. With Jean and Kurt settled, Scott waited for Logan to slide into the passenger seat. The guards, having put out the guard on fire, had retrieved their guns and were now aiming them at the van. Scott didn’t want the guards to keep dogging them and with the garage doors open, revealing a black tunnel, he figured it was now or never. With a quick twist, he unlocked his collar and let loose a blinding optic blast towards the guards. Not wasting time to see the effects of his blast, Scott snapped the collar back on and hopped into the driver’s seat. The garage was filled with smoke and Scott could hear objects clanging as they hit the ground. The room smelled charred, and he could barely make out any movement of guards behind the smoke.

“Let’s move it, Slim.”

Scott nodded at Logan, and soon they were flying down the dark tunnel that ran underground. White lights broke apart the blackness at segmented intervals. The white lights set off a strange fragmented pattern of white then black in the car, and with the car speeding so fast, it was almost as if they were under a strobe light. Scott hardly even noticed. He had no idea how long the tunnel was or where it would eventually lead to, just as long as it led out.

Jean was in the backseat with Kurt’s head in her lap. She knew she was hurt, she knew Scott had also been badly injured when fighting, but she couldn’t feel anything but her heart racing. She looked down at Kurt, worry creasing her features at his unresponsiveness. She brushed back Kurt’s hair from his face and tried calling out his name. Funny, it seemed to her that his fur almost looked pitch black in the tunnels. Like he could just fade away into the background. This thought led her to tighten her grip on his arms, and she tried calling out again.

“Kurt, please. Can you just open your eyes?”

No response.

“It’s no use, Red. Looks like that last port did him out. As soon as we escape, Hank’ll sort him out.” Logan kept his voice even, trying to keep them all calm, but he knew he didn’t fool anyway. Heck, even he heard the worry underlying his tone. Logan sighed and bent around his seat to take a look at Kurt’s and Jean’s conditions. Kurt didn’t bear any visible injuries, but Logan could smell his sickness rolling off of him in waves. He had said that Hank would fix Kurt up, but a small doubt nagged at his brain that whatever the serum did to Kurt might be permanent.

Turning his gaze away from Kurt, Logan took in Jean’s appearance. Unlike Kurt, she looked like she had fallen into a WWF ring and barely escaped. “Hn, looks like you got some nasty bruises yourself.”

Jean raised her hand to her face and could feel the throbbing heat coming off her injuries. Jean just shook her head. She didn’t need Logan to start to worry about her now too. ”I’m okay.”

Logan nodded and switched his attention back to Kurt, but then the tunnels began to lighten, as if they were approaching the exit. Logan twisted around and could see they were speeding towards the outside. The autumn sun cast a grey light over everything, lending an almost ethereal feel to the surroundings. Logan could make out the outline of trees and a road now, and he could see the bright fall colors decorating the trees and ground. He had no idea how much time had passed while they had been captured, but seeing the sun out and the surrounding, colorful nature after the harsh white lights of their cells was like a cool balm. He could hear Jean and Scott also take sharp breaths at the sight. Logan had gone through this once before when he had first escaped the Weapon X facility, and once again he felt that overwhelming peaceful feeling return at seeing the outside once again.

It didn’t last long, though. As soon as they had cleared the tunnel exit, they saw other similar, armored vans and vehicles powering their way towards them.

“Oh fucking hell!” Logan cursed, slamming his hands onto the dashboard. “Pour on the speed, Slim. There’s no way we’re gonna get caught now.”

Scott had already put the pedal to the floor, and they were zooming along the road. But, they still weren’t losing the other vehicles.

“Damn it!” Scott swore. “I can’t go any faster!” Scott could feel the vibrations from the engine as the van strained at its top speed.

Jean only held tightly to Kurt. She tried to reach for any power she had left, even just a smidge, but she came up empty. She’d be useless in a fight.

Now guns, actual guns, were raining down on the car. Scott hoped that the van’s armor held up. They’d be safe and could maybe get to a busy part of town, just as long as one of the tires weren’t –

The vehicle swerved widely and Scott barely was able to get it back under control. Scott knew he shouldn’t have though that. Of course just as soon as he did, a bullet had found its mark in one of the tires. Scott gripped the wheel tighter, trying to keep the car on the road, but with the popped tire, their speed was drastically reduced. There was no way to outrun their pursuers.

Logan felt he could tear the dashboard right out of the car when the tire was hit. Everything had been going pretty smoothly, and now one fucking tire was going to ruin their escape. He strained at his seat, itching to do something, ready to jump out of the van and maybe take a few guards down with him. Maybe buy some time for the others to escape. Suddenly, a loud engine noise filled the air. Logan turned his gaze upward and saw one of the best things he’d seen in what felt like ages: the X-jet. He let out a loud whoop, which he later would deny. Scott and Jean also let out cries of joy at seeing their salvation.

The X-jet hovered for a second before taking off in a new direction. Scott followed it closely, knowing they were being led to a landing area. He didn’t know, though, how they’d get rid of all the guards. The vehicles would just pursue them to where the X-jet was heading and take them all then. Turns out Scott didn’t have much to worry about.

As he looked in the side mirror, Scott let out a relieved breath. He could make large funnels of wind being raised all behind them, and in the center of them all, Storm floated in the middle, white hair blowing every which way. Their escape was covered.

It wasn’t too far from where they were for the X-jet to find a landing area. Scott quickly parked next to the jet and saw the warmest of welcomes when the jet’s door was opened and there stood Hank, Evan, Kitty, and Rogue, all there ready to help. As he tried to take a step towards them, his left leg went out underneath him. He hadn’t even realized it was even injured. Evan quickly ran over to him and helped him limp inside. Jean followed closely behind, leaning against Rogue and falling heavily into the nearest seat. She leaned her head back as silent tears of pent up emotion were released.

Logan came in last, carrying Kurt in his arms with Kitty on his heels. He set Kurt down on the floor. “We gonna wait for Storm?” Logan asked Hank, a hand still resting on Kurt’s shoulder.

Before Hank could answer, Storm appeared in the doorway, her eyes slowly losing their white glow. “I’ve slowed them down, but let’s go before they can regather themselves.”

“You fly, Ororo,” Hank said as he began examining Kurt. “I’ll look after the kids back here.”

Ororo took a quick glance towards their reunited friends, everything being said in her relaxing posture, before nodding and heading to the cockpit. Soon they were off into the air, flying quickly away from their living nightmare and back to the mansion, back to home.

XXXXXXXXXXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- “He hadn’t eaten any strange walnuts” – reference to the famous Dick Van Dyke episode.  
> \- Kurt’s reply of “Tulips” to Scott: Kurt is actually not out of his gore at this point. Tulips is referring to Tulip Mania, a pretty interesting history event.


	8. Bad News

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

** Retrieval of Self: Chapter 8 **

And then Rogue blasted all the puny soldiers into oblivion using Scott's borrowed optic beam. The others cheered as the clandestine warehouse burned down. Revenge was theirs.

 Or at least that's what Rogue imagined in her mind as she helped Jean settle into her seat.

 "You gonna be alright?" Rogue asked as she knelt next to Jean, trying to examine all of her injuries.

 "Yes, I'll be fine. I just need to sit for a spell," Jean wearily replied.

 Rogue nodded and stood back up, fists clenched tightly. The rising bruises she could see on Jean's face only caused her anger to grow from a simmering stew into a churning vat of lava. Jean didn't seem injured anywhere else really, just tired as she clutched her head between her hands. Trusting that Jean would tell her if she needed anything else, she turned her attention to the blood trail leading to the seat Scott was being forced into.

 "Stay the hell down," Logan snarled as he placed a forceful hand on Scott's shoulder.

 "But-"

 "You're to stay in this seat until I finish bandaging your leg. Got it, bud?" Logan pushed down on Scott's shoulder in emphasis before angrily tearing open a packet of bandages from the X-jet's first aid kit.

 "I just wanted to see how the others were doing," Scott grumpily muttered as he reluctantly complied.

 Softening his tone, Logan began disinfecting the gash on Scott's leg. "Yeah, I know. But ya gotta stay put or risk worsening this wound. The others are in good hands."

 Scott nodded in understanding, but that didn't stop him from turning an anxious face towards Jean.  

 Rogue caught his eyes and nodded to show that she was keeping watch over her charge.

 "Logan, I am completely perplexed at how to proceed here," Hank announced from the back of the jet.

 Rogue looked back to where Kitty and Hank were kneeling down beside Kurt. Her stomach did a flip-flop as she finally got a chance to check on the state of her friend. She was so used to the navy blue of Kurt's fur, that she was completely taken aback by the almost black shade to it. But what really made her stare was the golden glow emanating from his slightly parted mouth, almost as if his insides were on fire. Kitty was holding his hand, looking like she was about to burst into tears and throw herself onto Kurt's chest.

 "How did this transpire?" Hank voiced the question that was in Rogue's head, though she would've had probably added what the and a well placed hell to her question.

 "It was fucking Dr. Falk and his goddamn serum of some shit." Logan angrily finished tying the bandage around Scott's leg, causing him to wince. "Sorry, Slim. How does it feel now?"

 "I think you cut off my blood circulation," Scott answered as he rubbed his leg. "But, no, it's good. It's not bleeding anymore at least."

 Logan inspected his work then stood up from his kneeling position. He took a glance down at Kurt before turning his attention back to Hank. "The son of a bitch was injecting something of some sort into Kurt since we got captured, but right before we escaped, Kurt got a huge overdose." If only Falk was in front of him right now. Then, Logan could give him what he deserved and strangle him until his head popped off. Instead, he just crossed his arms angrily to stop himself from ripping a new window into the X-jet. "And this is what you got." Logan didn't glance down again at Kurt, not wanting to see his failure at protecting his charge. "It seems to have changed his powers a bit too. Before he passed out, he teleported. But I tell ya, he left this patch of flames from where he ported. Even set some asshole on fire." He let loose a smirk of satisfaction at that memory.

 Hank worriedly placed a hand on Kurt's head, feeling an intense heat radiating off from him. "This does indeed seem dire. Having a sample of the serum would be propitious, but that will be nigh improbable." He shook his head but then snapped his fingers in excitement. "But perhaps this serum is similar in components to the one I developed. That shall at least provide a foundation for my research. I'll examine his blood once we convene at the mansion but as you can tell, I have not been so successful at reverting the effects of such drugs." He gestured down at his own blue, furry self.

 "Um, guys," Rogue interjected worriedly. "I think Jean's passed out."

 "It seems Murphy's Law is full force today," Hank sighed to himself, rubbing a hand to his forehead. "Watch over him, Kitty," Hank gestured towards Kurt before heading over to the front of the X-jet.

 "Stay in your seat unless you want me to rip your leg off." Logan glared down at Scott who had been struggling to stand up and make his way over to Jean. Scott huffed in frustration, but complied with his orders.

 Jean's head was bobbing slightly with the shifting of the jet, her eyes peacefully closed.

 "I tried shaking her a bit, but she didn't respond." Rogue shrugged helplessly.

 Kneeling down, Hank pried open Jean's eyes. "Her eyes aren't dilated, and her breathing is steady." Hank observed. "Did she sustain any afflictions to her head?"

 Logan shook his head. "No, but she did use a hell of a lot of power, pretty much giving us our shot to escape. Was pretty impressive. Never knew she had it in her."

 Hank hmmed to himself, checking Jean's pulse. "All her vitals are regular. If she expended an excessive amount of power in such a expeditious manner, then she'll require rest to convalesce but should make a full recovery." Hank sighed as he retreated to the back. "Kurt, though-"

 Evan's voice from co-pilot seat cut him off. "Auntie O says we're almost at the mansion and to prepare for landing."

 Rogue breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that somehow now that everyone was back together, everything, no matter how dramatic Hank made it seem, would work out.

 QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

 Forge sat outside the medical lab, worriedly chewing on his lower lip. During the rescue, he had stayed with the Professor at the mansion to help him with any problems that Mondo Cool Cerebro might have. When everyone had returned, he barely got any information about what happened and had only caught a glimpse of his friend as he was rushed past to the medical lab.

 Now all he could do was wait outside the lab as patiently as he could along with a foot-tapping Rogue, a pacing Evan, and a nail-biting Kitty. If that wasn't enough to get on his nerves, he was also somehow caught in the crossfire shooting from Kitty's and Rogue's eyes. Poor seat choosing on his part, but he was stuck between them for now. Rogue, though, acted as if his mutant power was invisibility because she kept glaring darkly through him to Kitty who merely rolled her eyes in response.

"They shouldn't be in there like this, ya know," Rogue broke the stare down with a mumble just loud enough voice for Kitty to hear.

Kitty, already on edge, took the bait. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rogue stood up abruptly from her seat, walking a bit away before turning around angrily. A bit dramatic, Forge thought, but it certainly captured Kitty's full attention. "Maybe if a certain someone hadn't forced me to run away, I coulda helped them out," she finished, poignantly crossing her arms.

"Well," Kitty rose up to face Rogue. She certainly wasn't going to take this barrage meekly sitting down. Putting her hands on her hips, she sassed back, "that certain someone happens to have saved your butt."

Sighing to himself, Forge tried to drown out the pointless bickering between the two girls. At least one bright spot was that he was no longer barricaded in between the two. However, if this was how the X-men reacted in times of pressure, he was more than glad he'd turned down Professor X's offer to join them so he could spend time with his parents. Their friends were lying injured in the room right next over, and they decided to fight. Ridiculous. Forge could only shake his head in bewilderment.

“I don’t remember you protesting! In fact,” Kitty gestured wildly with her arms, “you were the one grabbing my hand so tight I couldn’t, like, even feel it!” Her voice crashed against Forge's ears like a screeching cockroach. Any attempts he could make at ignoring them would be hopeless, he figured, so he decided to lean back and watch the show.

Before Rogue could counter, Evan moved in between them. He knew just what to say to break this up. He should be given a gold star just for braving their wrath, and now he could be acknowledged for the wisdom he, or well really his aunt, possessed. "Hey, hey now guys, no need for a cat fight here. Nobody was at fault, yeah? Sometimes we all make mistakes but what's import-"

Kitty and Rogue both redirected their piercing glares at their new target, quickly shutting Evan up. He took a large gulp, immediately regretting his decision and vowed to leave the advice to the adults from now on.

"Oh yeah, Evan. I think Kurt might have to disagree with that," Rogue accused.

“Yeah," Kitty added, both girls now ganging up on him together. "You might’ve well of grabbed Kurt and thrown him to the men!”

"That's completely unfair!" All sense of taking the high road on this one left Evan as he defended himself. "At least I tried to take down those jerks and didn't just turn tail and run!"

The clamor from all three berating each other caused Forge to clutch his head in his hands. If this was on television, he would've pressed the mute button by now. Hey, that was a good idea. Maybe his next invention would be a real life mute button. He'd be sure to bring it with him whenever he visited Kurt.

"That's _enough!_ "

Everyone shut up, stunned as they turned towards the source of the booming voice. Scott hobbled in on crutches, one leg was wrapped tightly in fresh bandages, hovering slightly over the floor.

"I can't believe this is how you behave when your teammates are injured and unconscious right in the next room." Scott's powerful glare that was so useful for him as the team leader, was now invoked to cast shame on them all. Even though Forge couldn't see Scott's eyes past the ruby shades Evan had retrieved for Scott, the force of the stare was so powerful, he felt ashamed despite not even being involved in the argument.

"I expect better out of all of you." Scott breathed deeply to rein in his temper, which was already frayed at the edges from his stint in captivity. He closed his eyes for a second before reopening them. Calmer now, he addressed them again. "Now, if you think you all can behave, then you can come in and talk _briefly_ to Jean. She's awake now, but still needs her rest. I don't want _anything_ to upset her right now."

"What about Kurt?" Forge asked.

"He's still not awake yet. Hank's taken some blood and is running some tests on him, but doesn't have an estimate of when he might wake up."

"Oh," Forge slumped back into his seat, disappointed and worried.

"Does Mr. McCoy even know if he'll wake up at all?" Kitty asked in a subdued voice.

Scott shook his head in the negative. "I dunno, but I'm sure he will when he's ready. He survived all of Falk's proddings like a champ. Something like this isn't going to break him." Scott put as much bravado into his voice to try and lend credence to his statement, but deep inside he wasn't sure how Kurt was going to handle this. The others hadn't seen how bad off he really was while they were escaping, but there was no need to impress his worries on the others just yet, especially if Hank could pull through and save the day.

"But anyway," Scott straightened up to as full of a height as he could get on crutches to impress upon everyone that he meant business. "So, can I count on you to act like X-men?"

Rogue, Kitty and Evan nodded meekly.

"That's more like it." Scott moved to the side to let everyone through to the lab. "Forge," he said as he hobbled over to him after the others had shuffled past. "I'm sorry you had to witness that. I don't know what's come over them. I hope they haven't been fighting this whole time we've been captured."

"I dunno, man, but tensions are high right now. Maybe they just gotta let out some steam."

"I suppose," Scott conceded. "Anyway, even though Kurt's still out, you can sit by him if you want."

"Thanks, man." Forge made his way over to his friend and pulled up a chair. At first, Forge had taken encouragement from Scott's statements back in the hall, but now close up, he felt any hope in him start to deflate. Besides all the blatant physical changes from the serum, Forge thought Kurt didn't look so healthy. He seemed skinnier and frayed, like the worn hem on a pair of jeans. Forge couldn't think of anything he could invent that would help his friend, so all he could do was sit and wait and hope for the best.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

The click-clack of a pencil tapping was the only sound in the dimly lit office. This time, though, instead of a neat and tidy desk, papers were strewn about, file cabinets half-opened with their contents spilling onto the floor, and one sad, neglected plant added its dead leaves to the pile. Kemp was standing calmly in front of the desk, hands grasped behind his back and no sign of emotion crossed his face. The incessant clacking and cold, hard stare from Falk didn't seem to faze him at all.

Feeling that his glares were getting him no where except a one-way ticket to a migraine, Dr. Falk stopped his tapping and leaned back in his chair. In no mood to engage in a staring contest, Falk jumped straight to the point and asked in a caustic voice, "Well? Care to explain to me how this happened."

"It was a failure on my part," answered Kemp, his cool gaze meet the doctor's irritated stare.

"Of course it was," Falk snapped. "I didn't ask you whose fault it was, but about _how_ did this happen. Do you think I would be so careless as to let my specimens escape?" Not stopping for an answer, Falk continued on, enumerating exactly all the failures on Kemp's side, and ignoring any possibility of his contributions to the escape.

Kemp didn't answer the rhetorical question and let his employer continue on with his tirade. He clenched his fists tight to prevent himself from firing off a retort of who exactly was at fault by being so arrogant as to be alone with a mutant with unknown powers. To prevent himself from any careless comments that might jeopardize his employment, Kemp instead began to picture the horrible, torturous things he could do to his escaped captives. He had lost several good men in their escape, many had suffered various injuries, and one was severely burned all over his body. But more importantly, his pride had taken a hard hit. His team used to be one of the best known forces for hire in the area, but he had made some unusual mistakes of judgments in hiring new recruits. It was just so hard to find reliable help nowadays, he sighed to himself. When he recaptured the muties, Kemp had plans, most of which would be banned by the doctor because they would probably kill or seriously maim his precious specimens, but he could still think of many different ways to inflict pain that didn't involve physical harm.

Kemp came back to the problem at hand when he realized that Falk was staring at him, waiting for a response. Not knowing what Falk had asked, he simply relied on his best intimidation mechanism and just stared, using his piercing gaze to prevent any challenges.

Falk rubbed his hands against his temples and sighed. He hated having to repeat himself. "I asked, if you would kindly pay attention to the one who pays your salary," Falk snidely remarked, "why, oh pray tell, did my ingenious mechanism of tranquilizer darts in my lab not go off at the first sign of disobedience from my specimen?"

Readjusting his stance, Kemp tensed his shoulders at the question. He couldn't deny whose failure it was on that point. "The men in charge of triggering the mechanism, it seems, were not up to the task of keeping to their posts. They have been summarily dealt with already."

"It seems that you and your men have made a lot of errors along the way. First, letting half of the mutants escape, then the incident in the van and now this." Falk leaned forward over his desk. "I pay a very steep sum for your services. Highly recommended and all, and this is what I receive." He gestured with his hand and scoffed. "Pathetic. Now how do you propose you fix this mess you made."

Kemp stoically took the disparagement and jumped right into his planned speech he had mentally prepared for this confrontation. "While having the targets land right by our base of operation was a great if temporary boon, I propose we revert to the original plan of capture." He turned around and picked up a folder he had placed on one of the brown Chesterfield chairs, opened it, and placed a map of the X-mansion on Falk's desk.

Falk leaned in, listening intently.

"Having this opportunity to capture and observe four of the mutants has already greatly increased the chances of our success. We now know the powers of all, but one of the mutants and as to what extent their powers are at. Moreover, they will all be vulnerable now and unsuspecting of an attack so soon after their escape. At least three of them will be injured from their long confinement in their cells and in their brash escape. The others will be distracted with helping them recuperate."

"And will you're 'competent' men be prepared for this?"

Kemp ignored the derision in the word competent and nodded. "I will only take those I trust the most and who have proven themselves before in previous missions." He pointed down at the map. "One of my men has already provided a fairly detailed map of the outside of the mutant's base as well as a fair assessment of the inside based on his observations and blueprints.* I merely need to work out the details on the approach my men shall take. We'll be ready in two nights’ time."

"Good." Falk nodded and turned back to his computer. "I expect better results."

Seeing that as his dismissal, Kemp left to finish his preparations.

Falk grinned to himself, pleased that it seemed everything was back on track. He had straightened Kemp out as to his expectations and fully anticipated success. Now he could concentrate again on the intriguing data he was compiling from his experiments on his favorite specimen. It was no wonder he had thought his serum was a failure at first. He had been looking too hard for a gross change, but now as he reviewed from the first week compared to the last day of injections, he could see the differences in the data. They were subtle, but constant variations that increased incrementally after each dose. He leaned back in his chair, anticipating having his test subject back in his care and retrieving the surely stupendous results of the full injection on his demon specimen.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Kurt was sitting, slightly hunched over on one of the med lab's examination tables. He had woken up sometime late in the night and regretted every minute of it. The Professor had forced the others to head to bed and Forge to go home a long time ago, leaving the only other person in the room a peacefully sleeping Jean on a bed several feet away. Kurt couldn't be more grateful to be alone right now, considering all he really wanted to do was to curl up and die. Okay a tad too extreme. Maybe a long, cold Novocain bath would be a nice compromise. Anything to stop him feeling like someone had set his internal temperature at 400 degrees, bake until you receive one crispy Nightcrawler. He also felt restlessly languid, absolutely drained but too twitchy to fall back to sleep. Not that he wanted to go to sleep either. The images from his past seemed to keep invading any rest he tried to grab. Must have something to do with feeling like he was a furnace.

Instead, to keep his mind off his troubles, he watched the Professor, Ororo, and Logan listen intently as Hank droned on and on about something or other behind Hank's glassed off office. They had retreated there after having first greeted and checked on him when he'd woken up. Normally, he'd have made some joke about the Professor's blue PJs covered in tiny, smiling storm clouds, but he just hadn't been up to the task. Some expression, though, must've crossed his face because the Professor grumbled some excuse about it being a gift from Storm. After relating some of his one-on-one time with Dr. Falk to Mr. McCoy, Hank had then left to finish some crucial analysis, and had returned to his lab for a bit before calling the others in with him. Which left Kurt, alone, with his thoughts running amok.

His tail twitched nervously as he thought about what Hank was telling the others. His fingers performed an inane staccato beat on the table. What if Hank was telling the others that he was going to turn into a 50 foot version of himself, and then there would be helicopters and stern government officials, and maybe he'd wind up climbing the Empire State Building, which as Hollywood has proven, is never a good thing.

Letting out a small growl of frustration at his useless worrying and constant pain, Kurt decided he could be spending his time way better than tying himself up in knots. And what better way to distract himself than to use his keen wit that he possessed, if he did say so himself. After all, he already had a cast of silent actors in front of him behind Hank's office. Now all that was needed was some dialogue that he would oh so graciously supply.

Kurt watched Hank turn back around from his computer, shaking his head in disconcertion. "Damnit, Professor, I'm a scientist, not a doctor!" Kurt said to himself dramatically.

"Hold it together, Hank." The Professor gestured to his PJs, according to Kurt. "Look into these cute, little storm cloud eyes." His gaze was strong and forceful. "Now, feeling better?"

"Pansy." Logan muttered, but his gaze was obviously enraptured by the storm clouds.

Hank ignored Logan and nodded towards the Professor, having recovered his composure.

He turned back to his desk and gathered up some recently printed papers before facing the others again. "It seems from my notes here that," he took a deep breath and a dramatic pause, "you're pregnant, Professor." Kurt couldn't help but smile slightly, amused by himself.

The Professor's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Impossible!" He shook his head in a vehement no. "I never..."

Hank gestured down at the papers in his hand. "Well, it seems as though you have and that you've achieved the impossible and grown a uterus. I suppose congratulations are in order to you," Hank turned poignantly, "and to Logan." This time Kurt laughed out loud at his commentary, but stifled it, afraid he'd wake up Jean.

"Oh! Professor!" Ororo gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

"You're fucking joking," Logan angrily pointed at Hank. "You must've gotten it wrong." He stormed over to Hank and grabbed the papers out of his hands. Logan's eyes skimmed over them, but the data meant nothing to him.

The Professor rolled over to Logan and calmly took the papers from him and handed them back to Hank. "Let's hope he'll inherit my looks," Professor X said to Logan, but Kurt's game was no longer so amusing to him. Obviously, something Hank had shown them on his papers had greatly upset everyone. Ororo looked like she was about to cry, Logan was furiously ranting now, and Kurt didn't think he'd ever seen the Professor look so old.

Kurt dropped his gaze to his hands, wishing he had something he could shred into tiny pieces, but nothing was on the table near him. Glancing up towards Hank's office and seeing that his teachers were still talking, he began to look around the room for a distraction of some sort, but was stopped by his reflection in the polished surface of a nearby lamp.

He had noticed his darkened fur when he woke up, he wasn't that oblivious, but just chose to ignore it, hoping it would change back soon... somehow. But his eyes and mouth, he hadn't had a chance to see until now. Were they both really glowing gold? Hoping he wasn't going crazy, he widened his mouth. Why yes, it did look like he had swallowed a jar of fireflies. That was just peachy. Snapping his mouth shut, Kurt sighed to himself and put a hand to his head. Could his day get any worse? He really wanted a mirror to examine himself closer.

Spying around the room, he saw Hank's iPhone lying on a table a few feet away. He could use the back as a makeshift mirror like he'd seen Jean do before. Kurt slid off the table, tried to stand, but his slide turned into a trip all the way down to Floorida. Ok, maybe getting up wasn't such a good idea. Actually, maybe that was a really bad idea, because now to accompany feeling like he was being fried in a wok, he also felt like he just got off a tilt-a-whirl. And while he loved rollercoasters, right now he didn't think he could even handle a little spin in a teacup. He tried to focus on a black mar that was on the tile to stop the churning, but the cool tile felt so nice. Maybe he could just lie down for a spell and -

"Kurt!" Ororo cried out anxiously, rushing over to his side. It seemed as if the impromptu meeting about the Professor and Logan's baby had been adjourned. Kurt had to laugh at that thought.

"Why are you laughing? Are you okay?" Ororo looked at him as if he had finally lost the last of his marbles.

"Let's reposition you back up on the table," Hank said as he and Ororo maneuvered him back up. "What were you attempting to accomplish anyway?"

"I just wanted to get a mirror to see." Kurt gestured down at himself.

"Oh, certainly." Hank nodded and started to look around the room for one.

"I was going to use the back of your iPhone, actually."

"Yes, an excellent proposal." Hank went and retrieved the phone for Kurt. By now, Logan and Professor X had joined them by the table. Kurt thought they all looked like they were sucking on a Warhead. None of them, though, seemed like they wanted to jump right in and tell him about what they were discussing in Hank's office. Well, if they wanted to beat around the bush, then he was willing to play along. He wasn't looking forward to anything they had to tell him.

"Here," Hank said as he handed him the phone.

Kurt swallowed nervously before turning the phone over and taking a look. Well, it was as he had thought, jar of fireflies, just in sharper focus. He wondered if his inducer would be strong enough to conceal it.

"Actually, Kurt, there is something important we must discuss."

Kurt looked up at the gravity in the Professor's voice. He handed the iPhone back to Hank before beginning to fiddle with the end of his tail. He could practically feel the turbulent emotions emanating from his teachers.

"Hank, if you care to explain."

Hank nodded before turning to go put his phone down. "Let me start at the beginning so you can understand fully what is happening to you." He stood for a few seconds at the table, dreading having to face Kurt while delivering the bad news. He wished the Professor hadn't passed the buck to him, but since he was the one who understood the complications from the serum the most, he realized why he was stuck with the task. "It seems this Dr. Falk was attempting to amplify your mutant powers, perhaps even testing various serums to observe their efficiency. He was progressing slowly, from what you have relayed to me."

Kurt nodded. So far nothing Hank had told him was anything new to him. Dr. Falk liked to talk either to himself or to Kurt, he didn't know which, while running his experiments.

"However, when Falk overdosed you, the process was accelerated, significantly and..." Hank trailed off there and went to pick up his stack of notes he brought with him. Flipping through them, Hank sighed and shook his head. "I've tested my conclusion repeatedly, and though I make no claim as a doctor, I'm certain I've achieved accurate results."

"Get to the point, Hank," Logan grumbled. "You're just making it worse for him."

"Yes, well." Hank adjusted his glasses before putting the papers aside again. "Logan recounted that when you teleported as you were escaping you left a conflagration behind."

Now that was news to Kurt, but he didn't say anything, agreeing with Logan and hoping Hank would just skip the rest of the explanation and go straight to the obviously bad news.

"It seems you have some affinity for fire in your powers we were previously unaware of."

"Yeah, cause you know how much I love fire," Kurt quipped, but even he could hear a twinge of nervousness running through his voice.

"Well your past aside, it seems the serum has augmented your internal temperature to extraordinary levels. Perhaps with continued low doses, your body would've eventually adjusted, but with such a huge quantity injected all at once." Hank sighed again. This was one of the reason he had decided early on in his career path to become a scientist rather than a doctor. No delivering of bad news. "But of course I shall research and discover a counter to its effects -"

"Listen, Elf," Logan interrupted, tired of Hank puttering about the issue and worried that if Hank dragged it out anymore, Kurt would end up twisting his tail into a permanent corkscrew. "Basically what Hank's saying is your body temp's too high. You're literally burning up from the inside out. If Hank doesn't find a way to stop it, then you're gonna die."

"Logan," the Professor admonished half-heartedly. He was glad, though, that Logan had finally told Kurt, but the stunned and disquieted look on Kurt's face wrenched at the Professor's already aching heart. "Of course, Hank will work on discovering a way to reverse it effects," he tried to reassure, placing as much confidence in his voice as he could.

"I believe I might be able to create an antidote, if you will," Hank asserted. "But I require more information about the serum. A sample would be ideal, but any observations you could provide, Kurt, would be most beneficial."

"I, um-" Kurt didn't really know what to say. He was sorta still stuck at the whole "you're gonna die" part.

"Perhaps it would be best to give Kurt some time to take this in." The Professor put a hand on Kurt's knee. "Would you like some company or anything to eat or drink?"

"I think I'd rather just be alone right now," Kurt quietly answered. He usually liked to try and deal with his problems by himself, but right now he was still in shock and felt confused. He wanted to hold onto someone tight and yet at the same time find a dark room to curl up in and, well not die, since that's precisely what he didn't want to do, but just be alone.

Professor X nodded. "If you need me or anything at anytime, don't hesitate to ask."

Ororo, her eyes red, gave Kurt an enveloping hug to which he clung to tightly, taking needed comfort from it. "You can ask for me at anytime. But you'll see," she pulled back, brushing some of his hair behind his ear in a motherly fashion, "it'll all work out."

"I'll be in my office, working, if you require anything at all," Hank said as he gathered up his papers. "But please, refrain from any attempts at teleporting right now. It could complicate matters greatly."

"And might set the mansion on fire too," Logan added.

Kurt nodded in acquiescence. He had no plans on porting anytime soon, not with the way he felt, though the passing out part might not be so bad.

With a pinched smile, Hank placed a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder before returning to his office.

Logan gruffly nodded. "I'll send the kids down here as soon as they wake up, so be prepared for an onslaught." He lingered a bit more by Kurt's side, not openly affectionate like Ororo, and he couldn't help but remember his irrational behavior towards Kurt while they were captured. Not sure how his platitudes would be accepted, he gave a gruff squeeze on Kurt's shoulder before turning to leave.

"Could you get the lights?"

Logan stopped by the doorway at the softly asked request. "Yeah, sure thing." He turned back around to reach for the switch, looking one more time at Kurt who was sitting so forlornly on the table. Logan started to say something, but nothing came to mind that didn't sound inane or a false promise. So, he turned off the lights and watched from the doorway as Kurt's silhouette laid down on the table. Clenching his fists, Logan left the room, planning on having a long and difficult Danger Room session to take his frustrations out on.

 Kurt was glad to be alone by himself, and tried to desperately sleep, but it would be hours until he could escape his thoughts.

 QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Blueprints, for the most part, are public information and can be accessed by anyone. Thus, Kemp's men having blueprints of Xavier's mansion.  
> \- "Damnit, Professor, I'm a scientist, not a doctor!" - is a reference to Doctor McCoy's similar lines (but reversed since he was a doctor) on the original Star Trek. Extra hidden hilarity since they are both McCoys.


	9. Do We Really Have to Have This Conversation?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

** Retrieval of Self: Chapter 9 **

He was dangling from a giant stick, his hands tied to one end and his feet and tail to the other. Above him, Kurt could see tall trees, towering high with trickles of sunlight passing through. Turning his head to the side, small, brown teddy bears in forest garb were speaking to each other enthusiastically. He didn't like the way they would look at each other and then turn to him with drooling mouths.

Dreading to see what was below him, but not able to stop his curiosity, Kurt slowly looked down. There were rocks formed in a circle around the area he was dangling in and directly underneath him was kindling. Groaning, he looked back up to the trees overhead. Kurt desperately tried to wrack his brain for an escape plan, but his thoughts on how on earth he ended up on Endor, surrounded by demented Ewoks, over a giant barbeque pit, kept distracting him.

The rational part of his brain realized that this had to be a dream; after all, Ewoks didn't really exist and no one really wanted them to anyway. The not-so-rational side of his brain wondered if he should tell the Ewoks that a spit would make it much easier for them to cook him evenly. Kurt never had to choose which side to listen to because both thoughts were drowned out as soon as one Ewok turned around, flaming torch held in hand.

Oh god, they were either going to sacrifice him to the giant Teddy Bear in the sky or cook and eat him. Neither sounded appealing to him. He cried out to them, trying to get them to understand that he was not an enemy, first in German, then in English. It didn't seem to work. A teddy bear wearing an elaborate headdress made from feathers and leaves took the burning torch from another and raised it up into the air. Shaking it about, the Ewok said something that caused the crowd to cheer, and then turned kindly, black doe eyes towards Kurt and lit the tender below him.

Kurt wanted to shake his head and laugh. He was being roasted alive, by Ewoks no less. What would be written on his tombstone? He was so tender and moist? Roasted but not forgotten? Killed by teddy bears, he will be missed?

As entertaining as it was to speculate on such an absurd death, Kurt wasn't so amused as soon as he started to feel the heat and flames licking at his back. He started to scream when he felt his flesh start to bubble from the heat. Even worse, the Ewoks had started playing their terrible Ewok music and dancing around the fire pit. And was that- no, it couldn't be. And yet there, beside the tiny, evil teddy bears, were his friends, dancing beside Luke, Han and Leia. Rogue was laughing and waving at him as Han dipped her low while Scott hooked arms and do-sa-doed with Leia. And were those his parents in the back, waving to him with forks in their hands? Were they actually talking about whether to add more salt and pepper?

Kurt, disturbed that his parents were contemplating filicide and cannibalism in one go, turned away to look up at the clear night sky. A giant, looming Ewok peered down from the heavens.

"Kurt!" it said, its eyes looking at him hungrily. A giant fork appeared in its hand, and slowly descended upon Kurt. He closed his eyes and screamed even louder.

"Kurt!" Someone shook his shoulders. He peeked out from one eye, and saw a giant, looming Logan on top of him instead of an Ewok. He wasn't sure if this was an improvement or not. At least he wasn't going to be impaled by a giant fork anymore; though, the sensation of being roasted alive didn't leave him. Wonderful.

"Bad dream?"

Kurt rubbed his eyes, trying to shake away the remnants of his terrifying and yet somehow humorous dream. He blinked his eyes a few times, taking in the setting sun streaming in through his bedroom's French doors.

He must've fallen asleep right after showering once being released from the lab. He had almost conked out in the shower; it had felt so pleasant and cozy. The freezing water had relieved some of the pain and cooled the constant inferno inside of him. He remembered drying off and trying steadfast to avoid the mirror, but in the end, couldn't help himself. He could handle the darker fur, but the extreme golden glow from his eyes and mouth were just out of hand. He thought he looked aptly like the demon specimen Falk named him as. Even if Hank somehow came up with a way to save him, would the inducer even work anymore? He didn't remember how long he stood there, but at some point he must've, in shock dragged himself to bed and crashed.

Sitting up, Kurt realized Logan was still waiting for an answer. It took him a second to recollect what was asked. "Bit of an understatement there," he mumbled. He completely blamed that one annoying guard for all Ewok involvement in his dream.

Not really wanting to be around Logan right now, Kurt tried to distract himself from Logan as well as the returning pain by twisting his back. He must've been sleeping in an odd position because it gave a satisfying crack.

Logan sat back, observing Kurt for a second. Kurt was a little uncomfortable from the attention, but figured Logan would be on his way soon like normal. "Wanna talk about it?"

Kurt stopped stretching and looked at Logan like he'd grown another head. Logan had woken him up before from some pretty horrific nightmares, but usually had just said his screaming was waking the others and to go back to sleep. Never once had Logan asked him that. Kurt didn't really know what to say, but he wasn't really keen on sharing his problems, especially not now and not with Logan. "Yeah... no thanks, Dr. Freud."

Logan frowned at him, but dropped the subject. His eyes scanned the room, and Kurt had to wonder why Logan was still hanging around, looking as if he was searching for something else to say. "Everyone else is downstairs. They're taking it pretty hard."

Kurt nodded, looking for something else to distract himself with. Having thrown aside the blankets considering he felt like someone could cook a three course breakfast on him, there was nothing in his reach to occupy his hands. Instead, he sat there, looking down at his hands, finding it awkward to be in just his boxers with Logan being all buddy-buddy.

Logan seemed uncomfortable too. Nobody said anything for the next several seconds. Kurt, unnerved by this strange behavior by Logan, decided to take a chance and looked up at him. Logan had been so horrible to him the past few weeks, he didn't really know what to expect from him anymore.

Glancing up, Kurt saw Logan was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at something he clutched. His gaze seemed unfocused, like he was staring through rather than at whatever he was holding. Kurt was just about to snap Logan out of his thousand-yard stare when Logan 's eyes came back into focus. "Here. I came up to give you this."

Logan thrust something cold and made of steel into his hands. The temperature felt good, and he almost wanted to cradle it closer for relief until he saw what it was. Kurt gripped Scott's metal collar from their imprisonment. He half wanted to throw it across the room and watch it shatter through the French doors. Denying that impulse, he looked up questioningly at Logan.

"Hank said that if it stopped us from using our powers, it might possibly delay the serum's effects."

Kurt looked at the collar in disgust. " _Wunderbar_."

"Hank removed the lock mechanism, so you can take it off whenever you want." Logan took the collar back and demonstrated how it opened and closed. "But, remember, you aren't supposed to be using your powers anyway." He handed it back. "Need any help?"

"No, I got it." Kurt reluctantly put it on, making sure to not catch his hair or fur in it. "Just the fashion statement I wanted to make."

Logan grumbled gruffly, pausing for a second, seeming to think about saying something, before changing his mind. "Anyways, how ya holding up?"

Kurt was baffled. Really, this was weird. If he hadn't known any better, he'd have sworn he'd fallen into an episode of the Twilight Zone. _Logan's Hour of Caring_ \- an instant family classic.

It's not like he thought that Logan didn't care. After all, Logan had tried to have serious talks with him before. Usually Logan would walk into his room, arms defensively crossed, as if he was the one going to be interrogated. The topic of choice was more often than not about him trying to handle everything on his own. It was not something Kurt was open to discussing because usually the talks wound around to that one infamous time in Germany. He'd gotten good at telling a well-timed joke, thus pissing off Logan, who'd huffily walk away.

"Well?"

It seemed like Logan was not just going to go away, but more than ever, Kurt was in no mood to talk. So, he turned to his tried and true method of getting rid of Logan.

"Like I've just swallowed Tinkerbell. Do you think if we clapped hard enough she'll live?"

Logan frowned before standing up. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief. Here comes the usual return: Logan gets mad at his evasive joking, grumbles a bit, and then finally leaves. That was fine by him, the conversation felt awkward and weird, and he didn't much like being around Logan after the angry diatribes Logan had thrown his way during their capture.

Kurt relaxed too soon. Instead of leaving, Logan turned around, arms crossed over his chest. "Look, I'm not proud of how I acted these past few weeks. I shouldn't've taken my anger out on you, but this deflecting bullshit has to stop." Kurt's face must've shown some surprise and hurt at being yelled at again because abruptly as Logan had risen in anger, he deflated back down with a contrite look on his face.

Logan heavily sat on the bed again. He massaged his forehead, as if this was already giving him a headache. Temper cooled for now, Logan looked up at Kurt. "I know you've had a lot to deal with. But you can't just handle everything with a fucking joke or by ignoring it."

"I don't-"

Logan held up a hand. "Just hear me out, Elf, alright. I'm talking from experience here." Logan paused and waited.

Seeing how Logan wasn't going to go on, Kurt sighed and disagreeingly agreed. "Fine, yeah, go ahead."

"I'm gonna get right to the point. In Germany-"

Kurt leaned forward to protest.

Logan pushed him back down. "You'd agreed you'd listen first. So as I was saying, in Germany, I was there-"

"I know." Kurt crossed his arms and looked anywhere but Logan.

"-after you were almost burned alive."

"I _know_ ," Kurt said more annoyed.

Logan glowered at Kurt but continued on. "You want to know how I think you handled that?"

Everything about Kurt was still except for the nervous flicking of his tail.

"You didn't, that's what I think." Logan got up and started pacing before turning to face Kurt. "Professor X and I arrived just 3 days afterwards, and there you were, wrapped in bandages and lying on the bed. And you were acting like everything was just dandy, joking around despite the obvious fact that you were in a lot of pain."

"It wasn't that bad..." Kurt replied lamely.

Logan didn't even deem that worthy of a response. "Did you even see the look on your parents' faces?" Logan leaned forward, glaring angrily at Kurt. "They were worried as hell about you and couldn't even tell the Professor what had happened." Logan's voice rose as Kurt shrunk back as far as he could into his pillow. "The Professor had to practically drag the story out of you and then relay it to your parents. And you know what your parents said?"

Kurt just shook his head, feeling the size of a pea.

Logan started pacing again, gesturing angrily with his hands. "They said that they must've failed you somehow. That if you couldn't trust them to tell them what happened but could a complete stranger, then what else had you been hiding from them? Were you even happy with them? Or even safe? Your mother started crying, saying what a terrible parent she was and your father said he felt lost as to what to do."

Kurt felt tears well up as overwhelming guilt threatened to crush him. He pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to contain his feelings.

Looking at Kurt, Logan couldn't help but feel he somehow screwed this talk up. Instead of trying to help Kurt, it just seemed he made him feel like an utter failure. Logan stopped his pacing and sat heavily on the bed. Hesitantly, he reached a hand out and put it on Kurt's knee. He gave it a squeeze before putting his hand back in his lap. Logan sighed. He had started this conversation and he was going to finish it. He just hoped it ended better than this.

"Look, I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty or like a bad son. I just want you to see the way you handle things isn't good for others or for yourself."

Kurt squeezed his knees tighter. He felt like he couldn't get a handle on his emotions. The constant pain wasn't helping; he couldn't focus enough to get himself under control. Everything seemed to be coming in extremes and Logan was running him through the gambit. All he wanted was for everything to stop.

Besides, talk about pot and kettle with Logan of all people telling him how to handle problems better. Guilt, anger, stress and pain coursed through Kurt, flowing out in a rush. "Well, what good would it've done if I told them about anything or how I felt?" Kurt felt a tear escape and hastily wiped it away. "I knew I was different and that it was hard on them, so I just...just didn't want them to have to worry."

"That's what parents _do_. That's their job. No matter what you do, they'll worry, and it's better for them to know what's going on to help you rather than just be at a lost." Logan may not have been a parent, but taking care of the kids at the institute sure made him feel like one. "It's no good keeping all that shit bottled up. Look, Elf, you gotta eventually face and deal with stuff that comes your way. I bet you haven't ever even thought about what happened in Germany."

Kurt looked at Logan bemused. "I think about it a lot."

"Yeah and talked to someone about it?"

Kurt shrugged and rested his head on his knees.

"You obviously haven't come to terms with what happened if I'm always in here waking you up from nightmares about it."

Kurt shrugged again. "I guess."

"You don't have the best self-confidence and the way you handle things..." Logan caught Kurt's eyes before continuing. "After what happened these past few weeks, let's just say I worry about how you see yourself more than ever."

Kurt didn't respond, thinking about what he saw in the mirror after his shower.

A few moments passed before Logan tried again. "Listen-"

"What about you?" Kurt raised his head and looked up at Logan.

"What do you mean?"

"Seems like what you do isn't any different than me, except through more anger and growling."

Logan sighed. He had forgotten how perceptive Kurt could be sometimes. "I never said I was perfect, and I never said that you should just give up on your coping mechanism cold turkey. Just temper it down. But as to what you're saying, I used to be a lot worse... a _lot_ worse."

"What happened?"

"I met the Professor. I wasn't in a good place back then, and the Professor sat me down and -"

"Had a heart-to-heart?"

"Basically," Logan grumbled.

"And it helped?"

"Yeah, some."

"Guess you're still working on it."

"Yeah. Probably always will. You care to join me in my attempt to reform?"

Kurt let out a tentative smile. "I guess."

"Good. After all of this blows over, we'll have some time to work it out."

"Have weekly meetings of Mutants Anonymous?"

This time, Logan did smile at Kurt's joke. "Something like that." Standing up, Logan stretched and cracked his neck. He always forgot how hard and draining it was to have such a conversation with Chuck. Now being on the giving end, he never realized how difficult it was for both sides. "So, how'd I do for my first serious talk?"

Kurt sighed in relief, resting against a propped up pillow, glad for that painful conversation to be over with. "On a scale of one to ten? Three."

"Guess I gotta work on it some more. And you know you can talk to any of us, right? Speaking of which, the Professor wants to know when you're gonna call your parents."

Kurt cringed. "Um, soon?"

Logan turned around at that and just stood there and glared.

"Well, what would I say? Hi, Mutti and Papa, I'm dying. Surprise?"

"We just talked about this. They deserve to know."

Kurt sighed. "I know." He toyed with the edge of the blanket before shrugging. "I just don't know what to say." He briefly wondered if Mystique should be told too. Would she even care? He put the thought out of his mind. He had enough worries to deal with right now. Better to not add in Mystique and the Brotherhood too.

"Start off by telling them what happened. Then go from there."

Kurt nodded, distracted by what exactly he would say.

Logan glanced towards the door as he heard someone coming up the stairs. "You ready to face everybody? They're all gonna wanna come up here soon and see you."

Kurt was a little afraid at that. He hadn't come to terms yet that he could possibly be dead in a few days. Taking a shower had helped clear up some of his thoughts, but he'd rather be alone right now then having the others surround him with condolences. It would just make it all too real. The talk had also drawn a lot out of him. He felt like a towel wrung too tightly. A strong hand on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts.

"I'll go see what Hank's up to. You hang in there."

Kurt nodded, distracted by the impending visit and the necessary call to his parents.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Logan immediately began to head towards the elevator to take it to the subbasement and Hank's lab. He practically smashed the down button and then impatiently tapped his foot while he waited. Deep in thought, he suddenly rushed off towards the stairs, leaving the elevator to greet an empty floor.

Logan felt guilty that he hadn't ever really taken the time to sit down and have a real chat before with Kurt. The kid had always seemed to be able to take things in stride, but it was obvious that Kurt wasn't handling everything as well as Logan and the other teachers had thought. He wasn't sure how much of his blathering had gotten through to Kurt. It had taken many tries by Chuck before anything began to sink into Logan's stubborn head. Considering that Kurt could be just as bullheaded, Logan figured it was going to take a lot of work before he made any headway.

But that wouldn't matter if Falk's poison was allowed to run rampant. After everything Kurt had risked during their escape, there was no way in hell he was going to just sit idly by while he watched him die.

With that thought, he burst into Professor Xavier's office, ready to convince the Professor to sign onto his sudden, wild idea.

Professor X was sitting behind his desk, head in his hands. He didn't even so much as flinch at Logan's forceful entrance.

"Please tell me you have good news." The Professor looked up at Logan, a desperate look painting his face. Logan stopped in the doorway, his high spirits evaporating. He had never seen the Professor look so old. Still, he refused to be diverted from his goal and purposely marched up to the Professor's desk.

"I'm gonna go and make some good news."

Taken aback by Logan's resolute tone, the Professor looked up, finally stirring from his morose pose and looked up inquisitively at Logan.

Logan leaned forward onto the desk and pointedly jabbed his finger down. "We're gonna go straight back to that fucking lab, take out Falk and all his work-"

"-Logan," the Professor began, shaking his head, cutting him off before Logan could continue explaining his infeasible plan. "This is no time to plan an attack. Scott and Jean are hurt and Kurt..." He trailed off.

Before Logan could counter, Ororo burst into the room, breathing heavily. Seeing both men's surprised looks at her sudden entrance and ragged appearance, she took a moment to catch her breath and brush her hair back. Both men looked at her expectantly, wondering if there was some breaking news she had.

"I saw Logan running down the hall, and wanted to make sure everything was alright," Ororo answered the silent question as she finished straightening her clothes back into place.

The Professor sighed. "Nothing has changed. Logan just seems a little too tense right now and felt that attacking would be our best option."

"Now hear me out, first, before you go bulldozing my idea."

Ororo and the Professor exchanged looks before Ororo turned to Logan. "Logan," Ororo started to explain placatingly, "I understand that you want to take some action. We all do. It's just that now is really not the time to go rushing off-"

"-No. There's no better time than now." He gestured to one of the leather chairs in front of the Professor's desk. Ororo, sighing, took the hint, and sat down, crossing her legs and arms as she waited patiently for Logan to get this out of his system.

Professor X nodded toward Logan, allowing him the opportunity to at least explain his idea.

"Look, if we attack now, we can get things done." Logan started pacing the room. "First off," Logan turned abruptly and faced the others, "they'll never expect an attack so soon. We'll have them all off guard and can take them out in one blow." He banged his fist into his open palm. "And more importantly, we can get that serum that Hank needs to help Kurt out."

"Hank is working on developing a counter to the serum's effects right now," the Professor responded. "He's not even sure if having the serum would be a guarantee for helping Kurt."

"It's better than nothing," Logan said before turning to look to Ororo to support.

"Well," Ororo began, "I did just visit Hank. Right now, all he has to work with is the readings he got from Kurt and the serum he invented that controlled his own mutation. He wasn't very hopeful."

The Professor shook his head. "Alright. I agree that we must get that serum, but." he ran his hand over his head. Everything seemed to be falling apart around him. It made it hard to think, let alone try to handle such a big mess. His pupils were fighting, injured, and one of them could die. How could he go on if one of his students died?

"Professor, are you okay?" Ororo exchanged a worried glance with Logan.

Rubbing his eyes, the Professor took a deep breath and pulled himself back together. This was no time to lose his composure. "Yes, thank you, Ororo." He turned toward Logan. "As I was saying, your goals are things we need to accomplish, but it won't be as easy as you put it. Once we arrive at their base, how will we find our way around? Will we have to fight our way through? And even if we somehow did manage to sneak our way in, once we find the lab, how will we know which serum is the one Hank needs? There's just too many contingencies that puts this plan at risk."

"I know this plan is risky, but it's necessary." Logan was not backing down, and it seemed as if he was starting to sway both Ororo and the Professor to his side. Explaining the details of his plan, though, might not go as smoothly.

With a heavy sigh, Logan sat down into the empty chair beside Ororo. "I hate to say it, but I'm gonna be relying on Kurt a lot for this plan to work. I don't wanna put pressure on the kid now of all times, but he's the only one who can do it." Logan clenched his fists before continuing on. "He has an uncanny sense of direction, and during our escape, led us through that labyrinth underground. I'm sure he could get us back."

"I highly doubt Kurt will be up to this. What he needs now is rest."

"What he needs now is an antidote to that shit running through him," Logan countered. "Kurt's the only one who knows what it was the doctor was injecting into him." He leaned back into the chair. "If we wait too long to carry this out, then it won't even matter as Kurt'll be dead by then."

The Professor looked down at his desk, reviewing in his head all the risks and just how crazy Logan's idea was, but right now, it seemed to be the only viable plan they had.

Before he could reply, Ororo stood up. "I'm with Logan. The plan might be reckless and hastily thrown together, but we don't have time for some perfect, risk-free solution to come along."

The Professor grimly nodded. "Agreed. We have no choice." He turned to give Logan a fixed stare. "I'm going to charge you, Logan, with all the minor details. We need a fleshed out strategy of attack, rendez-vous points, and contingency plans in case something goes wrong."

"Which it inevitably will," Logan said as he stood up, "but we can't let that stop us. I'm gonna talk to Scott, Jean, and Kurt, see if they noticed anything during our little stay that might help us."

The Professor nodded. "Remember, this'll be a small operation."

"You're not leaving me behind," Ororo announced. "I can use my powers to create barriers against their tranquilizers in case we run into any of them." There was a gleam to her eye that said she was looking forward to repaying the men just as much as Logan.

"Right," Logan said. "So, you, me, and of course Hank. He might know what might be the best places to hit them hard to take down their computers and can help Kurt out."

"I'll leave it up to your discretion whether to bring any of the other students."

"I'll think about it." Logan said, but he didn't really want to risk any of the other students. He wouldn't even be thinking about bringing Kurt if he didn't feel it was necessary. His students had been hurt enough under his watch.

"We'll meet back here to go over the final details tomorrow and then leave the next night."

Ororo and Logan nodded before taking their leave. The Professor followed soon after, going to check in with Hank and on his new Cerebro. He might not be able to go with them, but he could help as much he as could in his own way.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

The smell of fresh laundry wafted up to Scott as he carried the basket full of clean clothes up the stairs. It was difficult climbing the stairs with a limp while precariously balancing the basket and his balance. Two days having passed since their escape, Hank declared Scott's freedom from the crutches, but he still avoided putting too much strain on his leg.

Making it to the stop of the stairs, he leaned against the wall, resting a bit. Who knew having the use of one and a half legs could make a staircase feel like Mount Everest. Looking down, Scott stared at the assortment of clothes in the basket. They all looked shades of red. He didn't know why he'd done the laundry. In fact, he doubted any of the others would be pleased to find out he'd chosen that chore. Back in his usual red glasses, telling a white apart from a red sock would be quite the task.  

Still, he had just wanted some dull task to keep his mind off of everything, and laundry folding always seemed to help. So clean clothes equaled clothes to be folded equaled Scott distracted. And right now, he certainly needed that distraction. Rogue and Kitty weren't talking to each other, Jean seemed to be avoiding everyone, and oh, not to mention one of his best friends was dying. Logically, he knew there really wasn't anything he could've done to prevent their capture or stopped Dr. Falk. Still, there was that niggling doubt in the back of his mind, causing him to question himself. He was the leader, right? The one everyone expected to have the solution. Surely, there was something he could've done or could be doing even now to fix everything. He wondered if he was even still cut out to fulfill his role.

He glared down at the clothes. He had chosen laundry precisely to stop these stupid doubts that he knew were stupid because he was being stupid. "Stupid," he said as he hit his head against the wall. Okay, now that that was out of his system, he was ready to go fold some laundry. Turning the corner, he saw Jean standing in the middle of the hall, looking out a window. She looked beautifully morose with the dim sun streaming through the window. As he approached, she didn't react, seemingly distracted by her thoughts.

"Hey," he said softly as he reached her.

Jean looked up, startled. "Oh, um, hi, Scott." Jean's smile was strained. Scott frowned.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Jean's voice quivered. "But, you know, I really need to go and work on -"

"No," Scott commanded. There was no way he was going to let her go off into hiding while she was acting so strange. "Something is up with you, and I'm not going to let you go moping about anymore." He held up the laundry basket, ready to use it as a barricade.

"Nothing's wrong. What makes you say that?" Jean asked as she avoided his eyes.

That niggling doubt in the back of his mind grew into a gnawing sensation. Maybe Jean wasn't avoiding everybody, but just didn't want to talk to him. What if Jean agreed that it was all his fault? Suddenly, Scott didn't feel like folding laundry anymore.

"Jean," Scot began as he put down his basket before gathering the courage to look at her. " It's just, well. I think I know why you've been avoiding me."

Jean looked confused and was about to interrupt before Scott held up a hand.

"Let me finish, please. Before I lose my nerve." He smiled anxiously before running a hand through his hair. "I need to apologize to you. To everyone, really. I really screwed up and got everyone captured."

Jean looked at Scott as if he had just spoken in Swahili. "Scott, you are being an idiot. It was an _ambush_. There wasn't anything you could do."

"Still, I'm the leader of you guys. I should've done something. Come up with some plan or plotted some way for us to escape."

"If you hadn't noticed, we did escape. And last time I looked, you weren't MacGyver." Jean smiled a real smile this time at Scott.

Scott smiled sheepishly back. He knew he was being foolish in blaming himself. In fact, what Jean had told him, he had already repeated to himself. Still, it was good hearing it from someone else.

"See, this is why you need me around. So you're not so uptight and hard on yourself," Jean said as she nudged him in the shoulder.

"You're right. I do need you around. So, then why have you been avoiding me?"

Jean's playful mood evaporated. "Well, what makes you say that? "

"Jean, please. I care about you. Deeply. And I don't like seeing you in pain."

They stood in silence for a moment before Jean took a deep breath and grabbed Scott's arm for support. "It's about what I did... during our captivity."

Scott looked at her confused. "But you didn't _do_ anything."

"That's exactly it! I didn't do anything at all! I didn't get up and protest like you and Logan did when they took Kurt away." Jean thrust his arm away. "But you know what, I did sit there and think. I thought thank God that wasn't me, thank God that I don't look like that."

“Jean, those are just honest reactions, really,” Scott paused trying to be sympathetic while at a loss of what to do. He'd have never have guessed that this was what Jean was stressed about. “It was a tough time, and even I thought the same thing.”

“You can’t lie to a telepath, Scott. I know what you were thinking cause I know you. You were thinking how you wish you could’ve taken Kurt’s place, done anything in your power for it to be you instead of him. Logan too. And I -” Jean turned away from Scott, not wanting him to see the tears forming in her eyes at her shame and self-disgust. “ -and I had only selfish thoughts."

"Do you think our protests did any good? Did you see Falk stop and say hey, that mutant sure knows how to raise amok, I'll take him instead? You know what I saw? I saw that when push came to shove, you were there, fighting right alongside us, using your all to give us a chance to escape. That's what I saw and that's what counts."

Jean shook her head. "You don't understand. If you could only read my thoughts then you'd see that I'm not cut out to be an X-man."

Scott felt like the wind was knocked out of him. "W-what do you mean? Are you quitting the team?"

"I-I dunno. I just-Scott!" Jean's eyes narrowed as she took a step forward, hand flying outwards in front of her.

Baffled by her actions, Scott turned around only to see tranquilizer darts floating several feet away, hanging in midair under Jean's will. Behind the darts, two armed men stared back at them, pausing only briefly before beginning a charge. Not wasting time, Scott picked up the laundry basket and threw it at them. Clothes rained down on the men, obscuring their vision. As Jean and Scott shot down the opposite way, the Professor's voice rang through Scott's head. _X-men, head to the subbasement immediately! We're under attack!_

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

 

%MCEPASTEBIN%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On all the Star Wars references, I really didn't mean to have so many in the fic. They just happened to fit so well and somehow just pop in my head, and I, at least, find them amusing. I don't even love Star Wars as much as it would seem.


	10. The Plan

** Retrieval of Self: Chapter 10 **

 Evan twiddled with the pillow’s tassels idly in his hand as Captain Picard commanded something or other in his definitive voice. He wasn't really paying attention, distracted by a Kurt, who was sprawled out listlessly on the couch. It had been two days since the daring escape; and with no cure from Hank, Kurt was beginning to look worse for wear. His eyes, despite now holding a golden glow, had lost their spark, and he was now having coughing fits which Kurt said tasted like ash. Still, Hank claimed the collar was dampening the effects of the serum, giving them precious time to discover a way to reverse Kurt’s condition. Evan had gotten used to Kurt having a little extra bling around his neck, and thought that whenever they found said cure, he’d get him a necklace that read, “I survived imminent death and all I got was this stupid necklace.”

 Evan sighed to himself. Avoiding these depressing thoughts was the exact reason he dragged Kurt out of his room. He couldn't stand the constant tip-toeing around Kurt and hastily wiped eyes anymore. So, he took matters into his own hands. If worse came to worse, he'd rather his friend have some fun in his last days. His plan wasn't doing so hot so far. Here he was, miserably stroking a pillow while Kurt had his hands clenched tight to his chest, eyes staring past the TV. Evan focused back on the TV, trying to wrack his brain for some brilliant idea to liven the mood. A commercial was on, something about a mime trying to buy a Honda. Evan suddenly sat up straight, an idea hitting him like lightning. He just hoped it didn't backfire.

 "Hey, Kurt!"

 Kurt continued to stare ahead, eyes far away.

 Frowning, but not deterred, Evan tried again, but this time his shout was accompanied by a flying pillow across the room.

  "W-What?” Startled by a pillow suddenly nailing him in the face, Kurt quickly sat up, glancing over at Evan before focusing on the TV. “Oh, sorry. Must’ve zoned out." Kurt began searching the cushions for the remote to fast forward through the commercials.

 "No, no, man." Evan sprung off the chair, vitalized by his plan. "Don't worry about the commercials. I want to play a game."

 Kurt looked at him skeptically as he stopped digging in the couch. Nestling back down, he began playing with the tassels on the pillow.

 "It'll be fun. Trust me!”

 “Your idea of fun and mine aren’t precisely the same.”

 “Oh, come on. Stop fondling the pillow and play!”

 Kurt rolled his eyes before giving the tassel one last twirl then clutched the pillow to his chest. “Ok, thrill me, gamemaster.”

 “Great. All you gotta do is guess who I am."

 "You're Evan. What do I win?"

 "Come on! Just play along. See, I'm gonna choose a character from Star Trek and you gotta guess who I am!"

 "Alright," Kurt gave in, a little wary of Evan's crazed state. "So just TNG or all the Star Treks?"

 "Can't make this _too_ easy, so all of them." Evan stood in front of the TV and shook his arms, preparing himself. "Ok, here I go." He put a hand up to his forehead while scrunching up his face.

 "I didn't realize Jean was on Star Trek."

 Evan laughed before warily checking around to see if Jean was lurking behind him. Relieved, he turned back to Kurt. "Man, she'd have my head if she thought I was mimicking her."

 "You forgot to throw your hand out dramatically in front of you." Kurt demonstrated in a perfect imitation of Jean using her powers. "Scott, oh Scott!"

 Evan burst out laughing. "Oh man, that was the -" He broke off, a scared look on his face as he pointed behind Kurt.

 Kurt slowly lifted himself slightly off the couch and turned to see what Evan was gesturing to, dreading the look on Jean's face. No one was there.

 Evan cackled behind him before getting hit in the face with a pillow followed by laughter. Smiling, he picked up the pillow and tossed it back to Kurt. His plan was working so far. He'd succeeded in distracting Kurt and was feeling pretty good about himself. "Okay, for real this time." He once again put a hand to his forehead and -

 "Troi."

 "What! Come on. At least pretend and let me have a chance at demonstrating my mad charade skills."

 "What can I say, I'm a genius."

 Evan sat huffily back in his chair. "Alright, Mr. Genius, it's your turn then."

 “K, hang on. Let me think.”

 “I know!” Evan sat eagerly forward in his chair, barely suppressing the smirk threatening to take over his face.

 “I haven’t even-”

 “Spock! You’re Spock, right?”

 “What? I-”

 “No, I’m right.” Evan flashed Kurt the Vulcan salute, grinning tentatively as he awaited Kurt’s reaction. Evan knew Kurt was a little, ok _a lot_ sensitive about his looks but hopefully Kurt would take the light teasing and would lighten up.

 “Evan,” Kurt seriously toned, leaving a pregnant pause and watched unblinkingly as Evan fidgeted nervously. Once Kurt had decided Evan had squirmed enough, he let a grin break out over his face.

 “That was terrible. Leave the jokes to the master,” he said pointing to himself.

 Evan laughed. “Well, I thought it was funny!”

 “Of course you would. You still think ‘that’s what she said’ jokes are funny.”

 “Hey, what’s wrong with them? They’re still funny. I still laugh at them!” Evan crossed his arms in indignation.

 “Oh, nothing.” Kurt suddenly became very interested in studying his tail. He fiddled with the end of it as he tried very hard not to burst out laughing at Evan’s righteous anger.

 “No, what. Just tell –” Evan broke off, a look of utter fear passing his face before he rushed over to Kurt and knelt down low by the couch.

 “Wha-” Evan cut Kurt off with a hand over his mouth.

 “They’re here!” Evan whispered in a frantic voice. “The men who attacked us!”

 Kurt’s eyes widened, cold fear washing over his whole body. Barely resisting the urge to sit up and see for himself, he removed Evan’s hand and mouthed, “How many?”

 “I saw one in the kitchen.” He cautiously peeked his head over the couch before quickly ducking down again. “There’s two in there now.”

 Anger boiled up in Evan. First they were attacked in the forest and now in their own home. Evan clenched his fists, ready to give the two intruders what they justly deserved. He was about ready to spring over the couch when he caught Kurt’s strangely glowing eyes. Perhaps he could take out at least one of the men, but that’d leave Kurt particularly vulnerable in his weakened state.

 Releasing his tensed muscles, Evan settled back down on his haunches. He had already screwed up once at the cost of his friend. He wasn’t about to commit the same mistake.

 “Evan,” Kurt whispered as he slid off the couch to settle beside him. “We should go before they come in here.”

 Nodding, Evan took one last quick glance over the sofa to ascertain the intruders’ locations before gesturing towards the hallway to their left.

 They cautiously crouched low to the ground and crawled across the living room floor, one eye towards the kitchen. What seemed like an eternity later, Evan crawled past the archway separating the living room and hallway, and sat next to Kurt just outside the opening. He unnecessarily motioned Kurt for silence and then carefully leaned against the wall. Holding his breath, he listened for any sounds that they were heard, but it seemed they were unnoticed.

 Suddenly a siren started sounding, and Evan felt his soul leave his body before he realized it was just the TV. The Enterprise was on Red Alert. _How fitting_ , Evan thought.

 Letting out a breath of relief, Evan turned around and sat against the wall, at a loss of what to do next. As he turned to look at Kurt, hoping he had some guidance on where to go, he noticed that Kurt was clutching his hands close to his chest. Leaning forward, Evan worriedly put a questioning hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

 It took a few intense moments, but Kurt finally turned towards Evan. “I’m okay,” Kurt whispered hoarsely.

 Not reassured in the least, but not being able to do anything about it, Evan turned back to the situation at hand. Knowing that they couldn’t stay here unnoticed, they only had two options: the front grand entryway with the staircase leading up, or the back hall with the wide panel of glass doors and windows leading to the expansive backyard. Evan, hoping Kurt would understand his crude signals, pointed to himself and to the left and then to Kurt and to the right. Kurt nodded in understanding and proceeded to carefully check the living room before crawling past the archway towards the front of the mansion. After making sure Kurt had made it across undetected, Evan turned toward his own course to scout.

 He had just proceeded a few steps before he felt a tug on his foot. He almost let out a panicked scream, but was able to hold it in. Kurt had grabbed his ankle and was shaking his head as he crept back towards their spot.

 “I saw three guards in the mirror near the front. Looked like two of them were headed upstairs.”

 “Dammit,” Evan cursed. Having no other choice, they moved towards the back of the mansion. Thankfully, their luck seemed to hold out. There were a few men they could see through the long glass windows out on the grounds, but none in the back hallway. Sneaking forward, Evan led them down the hall, though he had no idea where he was even headed. Where would be safe? In front of all the glass windows, he felt exposed.

 For the umpteenth time that day, Evan jumped a mile in his skin. The sound of fighting upstairs followed by Professor X’s instructions resounding in his head almost had him running down the hall, but he was pulled back harshly by Kurt.

 “The Professor said to get to the subbasement. We can use the elevator here.” Kurt whispered as he pointed to the back entrance of the elevator.

 “What if someone’s already in there? Or trying to come in from the front side?” Evan quickly pulled back Kurt’s hand from the elevator call button.

 “Do you have a better idea?”

 Evan grimaced and reluctantly shook his head as he released Kurt’s hand. Positioning themselves on one side of the elevator, Kurt pressed the button. The elevator must’ve already been on the ground floor as the doors opened immediately. Peeking his head around the corner, Evan nodded once before walking inside. At that moment, their luck ran out.

 The front doors of the elevator dinged open, revealing two armed men standing in the grand entryway. Surprise briefly flitted across their faces, but they recovered fast. Evan stood there dazed, and if not for Kurt’s quick reaction to jerk him down and out the back of the elevator, he would’ve been pumped full of tranqs.

 Fleeing down the hall, Evan could hear the sound of their discovery reverberating after them. More familiar with the mansion, Evan and Kurt were soon able to outpace the men, and ducked into the first room they came across without being seen.

 The library was dark and empty, but they still moved silently towards the back and crouched down behind a long aisle of bookcases. Taking a moment to slow his racing heart, Evan breathed out deeply. How were they supposed to get to the subbasement now? No plan was formulating in his mind and his panic scale was teetering towards 11.

 Meagerly suppressed coughing caught Evan’s ear, distracting him from his frantic thoughts. Looking over at Kurt, Evan saw him trying to hold back his coughs while muffling any that escaped into his sleeve. All the running had only taxed Kurt’s abused body.

 “You gonna be okay, man?”

 Kurt let out one last weak cough before trying to wave off Evan’s concern. The second he sat back, it was obvious any reply would be ignored. His sleeve was wet with blood.

 Evan’s eyes widened in shock. “Shit. We need to get you to Hank and the subbasement now.” Evan was trying his best to stay calm, but the situation was degrading out of control.

 “I-“ Voice scratchy, Kurt swallowed hard before trying again. “I can teleport us out,” Kurt said as he reached for the collar.

 “Are you crazy?!” Evan’s voice rose as he roughly pushed Kurt’s hand away from his neck. They both sat there a moment in fear that someone had heard Evan’s shout. After a moment of silence, Evan continued in a harsh whisper. “You’re coughing up blood and you want to teleport! We’ll find another way. In fact, why don’t we try to get to the back stairway. Hopefully the men will be looking elsewhere for us now and we can make a break for it.”

 Kurt nodded in acquiescence, seemingly too tired to argue. Standing up and helping Kurt to his feet, Evan pointed in the direction they should go. Right into the faces of two armed men. The men must’ve taken advantage of their distraction and snuck up on them during their hurried conversation.

 Evan realized there was no way for them to escape. They’d never reach the other end of the aisle before being taken out. The men smirked and pulled the triggers. As the darts sped towards Evan, he felt the familiar, sickening sensation that always accompanied side-along teleports.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 Professor X clenched the armrests of his wheelchair as he watched Hank worry over a recently awakened Kurt. This was not how things were supposed to go. He supposed he should be thankful that everyone had made it to the subbasement, but his heart had stopped a brief moment when Kurt appeared in a cloud of teleportation, unmoving. And then when Hank had discovered blood on Kurt’s sleeve and Evan’s recount of their flight, Professor X made an impromptu decision.

 They had been lucky so far, and he could only hope that their luck would hold out the rest of the night for what he had planned. As soon as everyone had gathered, Professor X had ushered everyone into the X-jet, only telling Ororo their location as she took the pilot seat.

 They still had a ways to go, and he was finding the building tension in the jet to be stifling and distracting to his thoughts.

 Hank straightened up, having finished his examination of Kurt. “You absolutely must not teleport again until we acquire the antidote.”

 “ _Ja_ ,” Kurt replied tiredly, staring morosely at the floor.

 “He means it, Elf.” Logan stood up to loom over Kurt. “No joking around.”

 “I know,” Kurt said irritably, finally looking up. “I just said yes. No wait, I said _Ja_. That means yes in German.”

 Not waiting for things to escalate, Professor Xavier rolled forward. “Now, Kurt, no need to take an attitude with Logan. I believe an apology is in order.”

 Feeling sheepish, Kurt ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I’m just feeling…” He trailed off, before shrugging his shoulders. There was too much to put into words.

 “Understandable. And Logan, I think Kurt understands more than anyone the importance of Hank’s orders.”

 Nodding, Logan took the seat next to Kurt. Sighing, he leaned over and quietly said, “Sorry, Elf. I just don’t take to worrying well.”

 “So I can tell.”

 “Yeah, not a very auspicious start to my resolution.”

 “Nor to mine either.”

 Seeing Kurt’s despondent face, Logan nudged Kurt’s shoulder. “We’re new to this. We’ll figure it out.”

 Kurt returned his optimism with a skeptic look.

 “Eventually.” Logan grinned in determination.

 Professor X, meanwhile, was trying to restructure his strategies he had previously laid out to accommodate these exigent circumstances. He had no choice now but to move up his attack plans on Falk’s labs and take everyone on the mission while the mercenaries were preoccupied at the mansion.

 After awhile with only whispered conversation as background noise, he was satisfied with his quick reworking. Charles called for everyone’s attention. “X-men.” Waiting until all side chatter had stopped, he began the tense debriefing. “Not all of you know that I originally planned to attack Falk’s facility in a few days time.”

 Rogue raised her eyebrows at Kitty in surprise who shrugged in confusion. Obviously they were not part of the original plan.

 “Unfortunately, the circumstances have changed, and there is no better opportunity than now for my plan to come to fruition. Forces at the facility will be low due to the attack on the mansion.”

 Faces full of anger looked back at him at the mention of the assault on the X-mansion. “Let me emphasize that this is _not_ a revenge mission. There are two primary goals that must be accomplished, and I need everyone focused on these goals.”

 Seeing nods of understanding all around, he continued. “The first and primary goal is to find the lab where Kurt was taken to and given the injections. If anyone finds this lab, do not destroy it. Hank will be using anything he finds to create a so-called antidote for Kurt.”

 “The second goal is to destroy the facility. We cannot have an operation like this continue to threaten mutant kind. Destroy any equipment, computers - anything useful that you can find.’

 “And what of Falk?” Logan growled.

 Staring for a moment at Logan before his eyes drifted briefly over to Kurt’s exhausted form than back to Logan, the Professor stated, “He’ll be your responsibility.”

 Logan grinned to himself while cracking his knuckles. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

 “We will be split into three different teams. Everyone is to follow all instructions from the team leaders. If they say run, do it. Hank, Scott, Kurt and I will be heading to the lab as fast as possible, using their memory of the layout of the facility. Hopefully, there Hank’ll be able to find the decoction Falk used on Kurt and reverse it. We will be Team 1, and Hank and I shall be the team leaders.”

 “Everyone else, you’re to cause as much destruction to the facility while distracting anyone that may interfere with Team 1. Team 2 will be Logan, Evan and Rogue with Logan as leader. Team 3: Ororo, Kitty and Jean, Ororo’s the leader. Keep a lookout for the lab. I’ll maintain an open telepath channel for everyone to communicate on.”

 “We will be landing near the back entrance where you all made your escape. The minute we land, it’s absolute silence until we enter the facility. We’ll be splitting up into our respective teams when we get further in. Maintain cover until then.”

 The X-jet engines began to hum as Ororo announced their descent.

 Looking at the grim determination around him, the Professor nodded in approval. “Let’s go.”

 XXXXX


	11. Back Again

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

  **Retrieval of Self: Chapter 11**

Heading back through their escape route, Scott couldn’t help but be proud of the damage he’d done. He almost never used the full power of his beam, but in this case, the satisfaction of the destruction was well worth it.

It wasn’t easy getting everyone through the rubble of what was formerly the garage. Logan and Hank had to help the Professor through some of the collapsed sections while Rogue almost got a skinned knee from tripping over some stray debris. Scott himself had trouble as his leg was still badly injured from their escape two days prior. He had dosed himself with some painkillers on the X-jet and hoped it’d be enough to get through their raid. As he almost tumbled over a large beam, he barely avoided landing in a puddle of blood. He stopped, staring transfixed at a particularly large puddle. He doubted anyone could survive that much blood loss.

“You did what you had to do,” Logan said as he joined Scott.

“I know, it’s just…” Scott stopped and shrugged, at a loss of how to convey his emotions.

“If you hadn’t, we’d still be lying in those cells, like caged animals.”

Scott nodded. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Logan nodded in return and walked over to check on Kurt. The queasy feeling still stayed with Scott despite Logan’s reassurances.

“X-men.” Professor X waited until everyone was focused on him. “We stick together until we come upon the functional portions of the facility then split up into our respective teams. The element of surprise is key. So maintain absolute silence unless it’s essential. Kurt, will you be able to guide us back to the location of the cells?”

_“Ja.”_

Scott could hear the exhaustion lacing Kurt’s voice. He wondered how much of a strain Kurt’s teleportation earlier had inflicted on him.

“I don’t want you depleting any more energy than needed, so please allow Hank to carry you.”

As a testament to Kurt’s fatigue, Kurt let Hank help him up on his back without protest.

“This feels oddly familiar. Though I think that Herr McCoy is comfier than Scott.”

Scott smiled at Kurt’s joke, glad to know that he was down but still wasn’t out just yet.

“Hey, I’ll have you know my back is perfectly comfortable!”

“Ja, like lying on Avalanche.”

There was a brief pause as everyone looked at Kurt whose eyes widened when he realized his mistake.

“Talk about your Freudian slip,” Rogue murmured.

Scott’s lips twisted up into a smirk.

“Wait, no. Not _the_ Avalanche, but _an_ avalanche.” Kurt flailed to prove his point on Hank’s back. “Like rocks! I mean lying on Avalanche would probably be softer than a real avalanche…” Kurt trailed off as he seemed to realize what he just said. ”N-not that I-“

 Spike shook his head. “Man, not an image I needed.”

“As fascinating as this all is, I believe we have a task at hand.” Professor X’s commanding voice quickly focused everyone back on their purpose. “I believe everyone knows their roles. Logan, you take point. Ororo, rear. Let’s go.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they ran through the dimly lit halls, Kitty became aware of how fast her heart was beating. She swore that their clandestine passage would be compromised by the echoing of her booming heart. As they headed deeper into the heart of the facility, Kitty saw signs of habitation - fewer lightbulbs were out, the few rooms with windows looked neatly arranged while most rooms were closed from prying eyes. Some rooms even had signs detailing their purpose.

As they rushed by one open doorway with signs of renovation inside, Professor X signaled for everyone to stop, holding up two fingers and pointing ahead. Kitty held her breath, hoping that the guards hadn’t heard their approach. While they waited silently, a trickle of conversation floated to them.

“-ran away like scared little girls.”

“Bunch of cowards.”

“Kemp’s checking the mansion from top to bottom now. Seeing if any of the freaks are holed up somewhere.”

“He’ll find them. He’s one of the best trackers I know.”

“Wish I could’ve been there. I wouldn’t’ve let those muties get away.”

“Yeah. Ain’t nothing coming down this fucking hallway.”

As the guards continued to converse, the Professor quickly exchanged glances with Logan. After a moment of silent communication, Logan slinked around the corner while everyone waited. After an eternal minute, one loud crack followed by two thumps reached Kitty’s ears.

Smirking, Logan rounded the corner. “Knocked them out cold.”

“We should bound and gag them so our presence remains undetected,” Hank chimed in.

Professor X nodded. “See to it.” Logan and Ororo headed off. “We’ll encounter more guards as we get closer. We’ll move at a slower pace.”

Through several more hallways and one more pair of guards, Kurt finally signaled them to stop.

“If we kept going mostly straight, we’d be at our cells. That way,” Kurt pointed towards the right, “are the laboratories. I dunno about the last way.”

Professor X nodded. “This is a prime location for us to separate into our respective teams. Everyone, good luck. Be alert and safe,” Professor X encouraged before heading in the direction of the labs.

Kitty took one last look at her friends before turning off and joining Storm and Jean.

After heading straight with a few turns here and there, they came upon the cells.

“S-so this is where you were held?” Kitty asked with trepidation. “It’s so-“ she paused as she looked at the cold concrete floors, metal bars, and harsh lights, “-bare.”

“I can see Logan didn’t take a liking to the decor,” Ororo said as she picked up pieces of the bars from Jean’s cage.

“It wasn’t pleasant,” Jean said as she averted her gaze from the cells. “But right through this other door is where they tested my abilities. There are a ton of equipment and computers that look perfect for destruction.”

Suddenly, the abrupt, blaring klaxon stopped them dead in their tracks. The lights began flashing a sinister red.

“Looks like they’re aware of our presence. We must hurry.” Ororo motioned at them to pick up the pace, and with that, they began sprinting down the hallways, the sound of their feet seeming to keep time to the flash of the lights.

Scanning the side rooms as they ran, Ororo suddenly veered off into a cracked door.

She quickly closed the door behind them. The room seemed to be an observation room with a glass window overlooking an empty training area. “Our lack of detection has held so far but will probably end here. The racket from destroying these computer terminals will draw any nearby guards’ attention. Kitty and I will take care of these quickly. Jean, you keep an eye on the door. After we’re finished, we move room to room destroying anything electronic causing as much destruction as possible.”

Kitty nodded in response and began phasing through the computers while Storm electrified anything remaining.

With a ferocious grin, Jean telekinectly threw a filing cabinet against a wall, the papers within flying out. Storm followed up with a rain cloud, soaking the paper into useless wads.

As they slammed the door on their way out, three guards were menacingly standing just outside, but had no time to react as they were promptly disarmed by Jean and quickly followed by a chain of lighting from Storm. The guards dropped to the floor.

“And that is just the beginning of what you’ll get,” Jean said as they ran past.

Feeling a release of tension with exercising her powers and putting down the guards, Kitty eagerly followed Storm into the next room awaiting annihilation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Logan led Evan and Rogue quickly down the hallway, any pretense at stealth thrown out when the alarms started blaring. He wagered that some guards had come upon the men they had tied up earlier.

Logan wasn’t worried about any of that. He had made the mistake of letting anyone survive from the previous Weapons X experiment, and it was his students who had paid the price. Falk was not leaving this building tonight.

However, Logan had no clue as to where Falk’s office could even be located. They had picked a hallway at random, in hopes of finding where the offices were located.

Picking one of the doors to his right, Logan grabbed the handle and flung open the door. Energy deflated at seeing nothing inside, Logan started to close the door.

“Wait” Rogue put out a hand to catch the door. Reaching inside, she flicked on the light switch. In the far back corner, there was a stack of computers and keyboards along with several office chairs. “Seems like we’re headed in the right direction.”

“A little help here!” Evan’s voice caught Logan’s attention. Turning back, he saw that Evan had already covered himself in a plate of protective bone armor and was throwing spikes down the hallway.

Glancing father down the hallway, Logan saw two guards returning Evan’s fire with tranquillizers. So far none had penetrated Evan’s shield, but it was only a matter of time before one got a lucky strike. The hallway was too long for him to make a wild run at the guards before he was taken out by the tranquillizers himself. He heard a few tranquillizer darts bounce off the open doorway he and Rogue hid behind. Frustrated, Logan growled menacingly, willing to run pell-mell down the hall if it meant he could protect the kids.

Before Logan got a chance to head off on his kamikaze mission, Rogue yelled right next to his ear.

“Toss me one of your spikes, Evan!”

Sharing a confused look with Logan, Evan threw her the spike in his right hand before quickly reforming another to throw at the guards.

Without hesitation, Rogue repeatedly slammed the spike straight down into the door hinges. Realizing what she was up to, Logan began utilizing his own strength to help pry the door off.

With a clang, the last hinge fell to the floor. Wasting no time, Logan hefted the door into his hands and using the door as an unwieldy shield, ran straight at the guards. Any darts shot his way caromed off until he slammed the first guard with the door against the wall, knocking him out cold. The other guard was already fleeing down the hall.

“I don’t think so, bub.” Logan threw the door down and hurtled himself after the coward. In seconds, he had caught up, grabbed the guard’s head and smashed it against the wall.

“Pretty impressive,” Rogue commented as Logan walked back to them.

“Not bad thinking yourself,” Logan said as he inspected the door. There was a split starting to spread out from the center. “Ch, particle board. Cheap ass shit.” Still, it wasn’t bad as a barrier against the tranquillizer guns, so Logan picked it up.

“Leaves me a little bare here.” Rogue gestured down at her unprotected state.

“Touch me.”

“In your dreams, Spyke.”

“Please, like I even wanted you to.”

“Spyke’s right,” Logan interjected. “Just a small tap and you can bone up together.”

Both Rogue and Spyke stared at Logan before bursting into giggles.

Logan just covered his face with his hand in exasperation if not to hide a small smile himself.

“Ok, ok, I’m ready,” Spyke said as the last of his laughter faded. He held out his index finger and with a brief tingle, Rogue stood next time him covered in full bone armor.

Logan nodded and started leading the way. As they walked, the hallways became noticeably posh – delicate fixtures on the walls, paintings and greenery along with decorative tables lined the larger, carpeted passageway.

“Seems like Falk decided to spare no expense,” Logan commented as he glanced at a crystal bowl on a table filled with intricately engraved metal balls.

The door a few rooms down creaked slowly open. A scientist peeked around. Upon seeing them, she tried to slam the door shut, but Logan was faster. Foot in the way, the scientist couldn’t close the door completely.

“Don’t kill me, please!” Mascara ran down her face.

“Tell me where Falk’s office is,” Logan growled.

“D-d-on’t!”

“Tell me, and I won’t hurt you.”

“Down to the r-r-right. Then you go s-s-straight until you take two lefts then a right.” She shakingly pointed.

“Thanks,” Logan fiercely grinned before quickly grabbing her shirt and slamming her head into the door. She sank to the floor.

Logan turned towards his students. “Take out any liabilities. She would’ve called Falk and warned him.”

Seeming unperturbed, Rogue and Spyke nodded. It seemed like the past month had left them all a little bitter, harsher.

After several more easily dispatched guards, a few scared scientists, and some twists in the hallways, Logan brought them to a halt.

“There’s about 4 guards in front of a door just down this hallway,” Logan whispered. “I’ll bet anything that Falk is cowering in there.”

“Good. Let’s take him down.” Spyke created a particularly intimidating spike in his hand.

Grasping the door tightly, Logan barreled around the corner before flinging it with all his strength at the guards. Caught unaware, the guards were hit with such force that the door splintered apart.

Following quickly behind, Rogue and Spyke pinned the guards against the carpeted floor and cracking their heads with reinforced punches.

“Wait here,” Logan commanded. “I want to confront Falk alone.”

Rogue and Spyke nodded and took positions outside the door.

“Do you think that Logan will, you know?” Evan made a motion of slitting his neck.

“I dunno, and I don’t care. Falk imprisoned and tormented our friends and Kurt-” Rogue clenched her fist. She couldn’t say whether she could go through with getting rid of Falk permanently. But she’d support whatever Logan chose to do.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Evan resumed scanning the hallways. They both strained to hear what was happening inside the office, but it seemed that this door was particularly thicker than the others. With nothing else to say, they lapsed into silence.

XXXXXXXXX 

Logan slid into the office, hearing the door close with an ominous click. Inside, he was greeted with similar luxurious décor as the hallways – leatherback chairs, an ornate, sturdy desk, and plush carpeting.

Falk had his back turned to the door and was frantically rummaging through a file cabinet in the back of the room. “As soon as I’m finished with this last drawer and the computer finishes with the jump drive, we’ll head off to my car. You are to protect me with your life. You are to protect these files with your life. We’ll set up at the location in Brisbane.” He paused a second. “Damn I hate losing that specimen. With insight into his powers – teleportation of all things! – and the data I’ve accumulated. He would’ve been marvelous.” Falk clenched some files angrily before resuming his search. “I’ll get him back. He’s mine. This time I’ll hire a more competent security force.”

While Falk grumbled to himself, he completely missed Logan’s entrance. However, the other room’s occupant, the young, annoying guard did not. He stared slack jawed at Logan. His hands were full of files and papers which slowly started to slid off onto the floor.

The sight of the guard and Falk caused Logan to see red. With one quick movement, Logan had a claw deep into the young recruit’s neck. His eyes were wide as blood poured down his body and out of his mouth. The papers he was holding crashed onto the floor, slowly being coated in red.

At the sudden noise of the body hitting the floor, Falk turned around. “You!”

“Yeah, me,” Logan said as he flicked his claws to clean them of blood. 

Falk’s eyes glanced from Logan’s claws to the body at the floor and back. He backed up against the cabinets. “Just think for a second.”

“I’ve thought about it. You’re dead. A remnant of Weapon X that should’ve been killed off long ago.”

“I am making you better, stronger!

Logan approached Falk slowly, enjoying his obvious fear. “You're using us. Making us into weapons for your own goals.”

“Look at you! You’re impervious. And my other speci-“ Falks backtracked at Logan’s fierce snarl, “I mean your student, Kurt right? He will be glorious-”

“I am _not_ a weapon! He is _not_ a toy!” Logan shoved off the papers that littered the desk. Breathing heavily, he continued, “None of us are.”

“But isn’t he superior now? Surely his powers must be magnified by-“

“You want to know what you did! You killed him! He’s dying because of your fucking experiments. _Your_ overdose!” Logan was now standing in front of Falk, claws extended. “I am going to enjoy this.”

“Wait!” Falk frantically tried to duck away but was blocked by Logan’s fist slamming into the cabinet next to his head. “I can save him!”

Logan barely held himself in check. “Explain. _Now_.”

Falk nervously adjusted his sleeves. “I knew, of course, that I was giving an overdose to my speci-yes, um, that is, Kurt. It was a punishment, you see. I had no idea that he would teleport away or the fact that he could even teleport. I was simply going to let a few hours or days go by, observing the changes- they must be remarkable changes- before I reversed the effects.”

“Punishment?” Logan snarled.

“That is besides the point,” Falk snapped. “Were you not listening? I can reverse the effects.”

“Simply that easy. Just reverse the effects like -” Logan snapped his fingers and scoffed.

“Yes simply,” Falk, feeling more confident, snapped back mockingly, “that easy. I didn’t want a repeat of Weapon X, now did I. Instead I developed several series of decoctions. Easily administered and easily reversed. That way if a mutant became too much of a liability risk, I could handle the situation.”

“As you handled this one.”

“Unknown factors occurred. But if you want to save him, then you simply can’t kill me.” Falk smirked, knowing he had won.

Clenching his fists in frustration, Logan turned around and banged his fists against the desk so hard that the wood cracked. “Fuck!” Taking a deep breath to regain control, Logan spun back around, grabbing Falk by the collar. “And you can fix him, completely. Reverse everything you’ve done.”

“Of course, I have never thoroughly tested my serums until now. Especially that last one I administered. Brand new. Potent. Seeing its effects first hand will be most rewarding. And an overdose no less.” Seeing the fury grow in Logan’s eyes, Falk hurried to his point. “But yes, I can assure you that he won’t die. He is one of the most curious and exciting specimens I’ve encountered. It is not in my plan to lose him.”

“Your plan for him ends now. You’ll come with me and save him, now.”

“And me? Do you think I’ll simply go with you only to have you kill me in the end?”

“I won’t kill you… yet. That’s as good as you deserve.”

“How reassuring. But I suppose it’s the best I will get.” Falk straightened his lab coat as Logan backed off. “Lead the way to your jet.”

“He’s here in the facility. You lead the way to your labs.”

“How fortunate then.”

Falk’s back presented a perfect target for Logan as Falk guided them through the halls, but he just couldn’t risk Kurt’s life.

In the office, the jump drive blinked once then became a solid green, signaling that all files had been fully uploaded.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is. I even surprised myself. Falk was totally supposed to be killed in that last scene by Logan.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who reviewed. Glad y'all are enjoying the story still, and for letting me know you enjoyed it. 
> 
> And probably just kidding about that one more chapter and epilogue. Most likely there will be two to possibly three more chapters. Ha…

** Retrieval of Self: Chapter 12 **

  

Kurt sagged down on Hank’s back, barely even holding on and more just letting himself be carried. He had lasted this long on adrenaline, but now that was starting to peter out. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and block out the blaring alarm. Each warning blast reverberated in his head, drawing attention to every small and not too small ache.

He somewhat regretted teleporting earlier with Evan. If he thought his pain and the constant heat before was bad, it now felt like a swarm of ants that were literally on fire were crawling up his throat. He could just imagine them now swarming out and all over Hank and him, creating a strange fireball of blue, burning fur.

In fact, even now he could feel an ant in the back of his throat, tickling and burning. If he let it out, would a fireball come out of his throat? What if that was another manifestation of Falk’s serum? Would he be like a new fangled Kaiju – blue, furry and adorably terrifying?

He struggled a few seconds against the urge to cough, but any resistance was futile. Not able to hold back any longer, Kurt buried his head in the back of Hank’s neck and coughed hard. Leaning back, Kurt rubbed at his throat, feeling like he had just swallowed a jar of razor blades that had cozied up to a camp fire. As he looked back down, he was dismayed to see blood splattered on Hank’s nape.

“Kurt.”

He stared, frightened by the prospect that even if Hank was able to concoct some miracle to reverse the serum, it would be too late.

“Kurt!”

 He really didn’t want to die. No matter how light of his situation he tried to make, the idea of dying – it was terrifying.

  _Kurt._

 Kurt jumped at the Professor’s voice in his head. _Ja?_

  _We’ve been calling to you. Is everything alright?_

 Kurt tore his gaze away from Hank’s back to see that they had stopped at an intersection. Scott and the Professor were both looking at him while Hank tried to peer over his shoulder.

 “Sorry, I must’ve been daydreaming.” Kurt knew it was a stupid excuse, and saw the Professor scrutinize him closer.

 “Mm,” the Professor replied noncommittally. “Well, it seems we’re in need of further guidance. Which way is the lab?”

 Gathering his bearings, Kurt thought for a moment, before pointing down the right hallway. “This way, the 2nd door on the right.”

 Luckily, the door to the lab was unlocked. With a flick from Scott, the lights hummed on.

 It looked just like it did when Kurt had teleported out of there what seemed liked ages ago. Hank backed up to the silver examination table and slowly let Kurt down off his back.

 Closing the door behind the Professor, Scott let out a sigh. “Man, we were lucky not running into anyone. I thought for sure we would.”

 “Agreed.” The Professor looked Scott over. “How is your leg holding up?”

 “A little sore, but it’s fine for now.”

 Kurt didn’t notice the Professor turn towards him or the worried gaze that spread across his face. He was too busy debating whether he should lie down and enjoy the cool relief of the metal or spring off in disgust.

 “Revolting,” the Professor remarked as he examined one of the restraints attached to the table. Kurt quickly glanced away, not wanting to revisit the memories of having said restraints employed against him. He was already uncomfortable enough as it was, sitting on the table where he was handled, stroked, prodded, injected - degraded to nothing more than a unique specimen.

 “Hey,” Kurt looked up, almost having forgotten about Scott. “Let’s just find the right serum then jet out this creepy joint.” Scott’s smile was a little shaky, but Kurt appreciated the effort.

 “There are numerous vials of serum on this desk.” Hank stood across the room, looking down at a desk that held all of Falk’s decoctions, his research notes and his computer. He held up one of the vials. “X-f-b-3-1-0,” he read out loud. Picking up another, he again read, “X-f-b-3-1-1.”

 Turning around, Hank looked at Kurt. “Do you recognize this labeling?”

 Kurt wasn’t paying any attention. He was trying very hard to resist another urge to cough. He didn’t want everyone to see in case he coughed blood again.

  _Kurt, I know you are not feeling well. But we need you to focus and help us so we, in return, can help you. Do you think you can try?_

Kurt nodded and sat up a little straighter. He cleared his throat, tasting blood, before responding. “ _Was?_ What was the question?”

 “Do you recognize this X-f-b serum?” Hank repeated.

 Kurt hesitated. “I-I think so. I vaguely remember Falk mentioning some series of serum. Let me thi- no wait, _ja_ , that’s it. Xfb. I remember cause I pretended it stood for X-treme fart bolstering.”

 Hank paused for a moment. “Yes, um well, statistically speaking, that is most likely not what the initialism represents, but imaginative, nonetheless.”

 “You are one weird dude, Kurt,” Scott incredulously laughed.

 Kurt shrugged lethargically before turning back to Hank. “Falk was trying out different runs in that Xfb series before he used the last one.”

 “What was the last one called?” The Professor had joined Hank at the research desk, and was leafing through some of Falk’s notes.

 “I don’t think he said. But I remember it looked somewhat different than the others. Instead of being clear, it was ochre.”

 “Ochre?” Scott questioned.

 “An earthy pigment.” Hank answered dismissively. “Hmm, not in this collection of vials. Perhaps…“ Hank mumbled to himself as he perused the serums.

 “Ochre?” Scott questioned again but this time directed towards Kurt.

 “Learned it from the school musical.”

 Scott just shook his head. Sometimes, despite it being his second language, it felt like Kurt had a larger vocabulary than him.

Kurt felt like he couldn’t hold back his cough anymore. Turning his head to the side, he tried to suppress it and let out only one small cough, but this action only made it worse. He ended up doubling over as he leaned to the right, wracked by several strong, painful coughs. As he sat back up, he saw that once again he had left blood behind.

“Kurt,” Scott gasped.

“Eureka. I believe I’ve located the correct vial.” Hank held up a mostly empty vial but for a few drops of orange-ish liquid at the bottom. “X-f-e-1-0-0.” Hank turned and walked towards Kurt. “You said he zealously used the majority of the serum on you, correct?”

_Ja._ ” Kurt replied, ignoring Scott’s dismay. He took the offered vial and examined it himself. “It looks like it.”

“I wish we had more to work with, but this will have to suffice. You hold on to that while I look through the rest of Falk’s notes to determine if we can attain anything else useful.” Hank headed back to where the Professor had already set aside a few pertinent documents for Hank to review.

Scott immediately turned towards Kurt. “You’re getting worse.”

Kurt sighed as he studied the near empty vial in his hands. “I know.”

Scott stuttered for a moment, at a loss at what he could do, before slumping down next to Kurt on the table. “The Professor and Hank, they’ll find something.”

Kurt smiled at Scott’s relentless optimism and leaned against him. “Yeah.” He decided not to voice his doubts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Logan marched Falk through the corridors with Rogue and Spyke exchanging glances periodically behind. The silence was tense, broken up only by the reverberating klaxon. Neither wanted to be the one to cut the string that was holding the tenuous peace.

 When they had inevitably come across a group of guards, Falk had ordered them to kill the alarm and to retire for the day. Only after the guards had retreated did Logan retract his claws that were jutting into Falk’s back.

Soon, the alarm and flashing lights ceded their grip to the customary tranquility of the hallways. Only their footsteps and nervous breathing resounded down the corridors.

 “There.”

 Rogue and Spyke almost jumped out of their skins at the sound of Falk’s voice, but Logan remained collected.

 “That hallway leads to the labs.”

 Never facing away from Falk, Logan barked his orders. “Rogue, Spyke – you two go find Storm and the others. Tell them what’s going on, and help them destroy the rest of this hell hole.”

“But how are we supposed to find them?” Rogue asked.

 “I hear them down off that way.” Logan pointed to his left. “Shouldn’t be too far. Call out to Jean if you can’t find them soon.”

 “Alright,” Rogue hesitated. She really wanted to come and make sure that Kurt was going to be alright. “Guess the Professor will be in contact?”

 “Right.” Realizing his gruff demeanor was putting his students on edge, Logan decided to ease up. “I’ll be sure to keep you updated. Now go.”

 After the two had left, Logan focused his attention back on Falk. “Once we get in that lab, one wrong move from you, and I won’t hesitate.”

 “I believe you’ve made that perfectly clear. Shall we get going?”

 Logan snarled at the snide tone in Falk’s voice, but pushed him on.

 Upon entering the lab, Logan had 4 pairs of eyes turn his way.

 The Professor had his hands poised above a keyboard to a computer and beside him Hank was clutching some important looking documents in his hands.

 Scott had jumped off a table in the middle of the room and had his hand up to his visor, ready to blast away any unwanted intruder. Kurt remained perched on the table, looking weary and exhausted until his eyes alighted upon Falk. His whole demeanor changed to one of tense and panicked.

 Logan regretted having to subject Kurt to Falk again, but there was no choice.

 “Logan, and Dr. Falk, I presume?” The Professor didn’t wait for an answer. “Why would you bring this man back here… to us?”

 “Sorry, Chuck, but seems like Falk here might have a way to help out the Elf.”

“That is precisely what I am attempting, Logan.” Hank gestured towards the notes sprawled across the desk in semi-organized piles.

“I don’t doubt ya, Hank, but it’ll take time for you to figure out how to engineer a cure. Falk says that he already has one.”

 “Oh?” Hank looked intrigued.

 “You are also a specimen I would not mind collecting.” Falk said as he observed Hank. “But it seems my favorite specimen has done so well under my own administrations already.” Falk looked hungrily at Kurt, who clenched his grip on the edge of the table.

 Not liking Falk’s tone or the way Kurt looked so close to teleporting away, Logan shoved Falk forward to remind him of his menacing presence. “Tell them. Now.”

 “Some people just don’t appreciate my efforts,” Falk said as he straightened his lab coat. He sighed before continuing. “For each serum series I develop, I simultaneously develop an antidote, if you will.”

 “That seems like a lot of work,” the Professor said.

 “It is, but necessary. As you can see some mutants,” Falk gestured back to Wolverine, “can be hard to handle, particularly after being bestowed enhancements. I wanted a safety net – to reverse any mutant who became too powerful to handle.”

 “And now you propose to use this antidote on Kurt?”

 “Yes. He is after all my most treasured specimen, and I don’t want to see him suffer from my impulsive actions.” Falk started moving a little closer to Kurt, but Logan pulled him back while Scott moved to block his way. “And, of course, I have my own interest in not being ruthlessly skewed by your Wolverine.”

“This antidote will reverse all effects that the serum had?”

 “Perhaps not all. The serum was relatively new and untested, and the dose administered was highly unusual. But it should be enough to reverse the most damaging components. A pity. I would’ve loved to have studied its effects up close.”

 Logan growled and spun Falk around. “I’ve had enough of your endless commentary. I should’ve just run you through when I had the chance.”

 “Logan!” The Professor called out. “While I appreciate your defense of Kurt, right now we need Falk _unharmed_.”

 “Fine.” Logan let go of Falk and took a few steps back in case his anger took a hold of him again.

 “Hank? What do you recommend?”

 “If I can verify Falk’s claims –”

 “You can,” Falk interjected but was ignored.

 “then I would presume it to be the wisest course of action. Once we observe the effects of the antidote, I may be able to produce a more potent antidote that could completely reverse all the alterations the serum imposed.”

“Falk, you can prove then that your antidote will work?”

 “Of course, but only if my safety is guaranteed. I want to be unscathed and dropped off in Brisbane.”

 “Done. I assure you, no one I am in charge of will hurt you.”

 Logan and Scott almost seemed to come unglued. Kurt seemed like he had been sucker punched and if it weren’t for the collar still around his neck, Charles might have thought he was going to teleport as far away as possible.

 “Charles, I’m not sure if letting Falk go would be the –” Hank began.

 The Professor stayed them all with a raise of his hand.

 Seeing the mutants obey Professor X, Falk felt reassured. “Nor yourself,” Falk clarified.

 “Nor myself,” the Professor agreed. Mentally he sent out a message to Logan, Scott, Kurt and Hank allaying their fears and communicating that Falk would be dealt with to make sure no other mutant would come to harm under his care. The Professor gestured to the desk and notes that Hank and he had been poring over. “Now then if you please.”

 

Wolverine figured Hank would ensure that Falk’s antidote would function as he said. As Chuck and Hank huddled around the desk, Logan made his way over to Kurt and Scott. Kurt, frankly, looked like one small tap would send him flying apart.

 “Sorry to have to subject you to Falk again, but he’s our best shot.”

 Kurt barely looked up before his gaze traveled back over to Falk. Logan could read the trepidation that was clearly radiating off of him.

 As Logan glanced down, he spied spots of blood on the table. Sensing Logan’s penetrating stare, Kurt followed Logan’s gaze to the blood and then sheepishly meet his eyes.

 Logan’s eyes had a hardness about them that spoke volumes. Seeing Kurt cringe away, he tried to wrangle in his anger.

 “I’m not angry with you, Elf. I just hope whatever the Professor has in store for him hurts like hell.”

 “What do you think the Professor’s going to do?” Scott asked.

 Logan shared a meaningful look with Kurt before turning to Scott. “Charles is usually the one trying to resolve things peacefully, but this time,” Logan paused and looked over to study the Professor’s back, “I’m not quite sure he’ll take the higher ground. Not that I’d argue with that.” Logan cast a gelid stare at Falk that practically dropped the temperature a few degrees. “We still gotta keep an eye on him.”

 They waited with only the low tones of Hank’s questioning filling the silence. Logan worriedly drummed his fingers on his crossed arms. He felt his heart skip a beat when Hank’s loud pronouncement disturbed the tense air.

 “While I would prefer to further study the data, it seems that the antidote should be efficacious. I believe the best recourse is to administer it now to prevent any irreparable damage.”

 Kurt shifted nervously at the words ‘irreparable damage.’

“I concur,” Falk said. “My specimen’s condition is worrisome, and the quicker we inject the Xfe antidote, the less we risk. My antidotes are stored just down the hall in another lab.”

 “Wolverine, please accompany Hank and Falk,” the Professor ordered.

 Logan nodded, sticking close to Falk to make sure he didn’t try anything.

 XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Scott didn’t like waiting, but there wasn’t really anything else he could do. Whatever was in Falk’s notes would be way too advanced for him to understand, so he left the Professor to the task of sorting them. He didn’t have anything to say to Kurt except simple platitudes that would do nothing to bolster his spirits. Kurt didn’t seem to be one for conversation right now anyway. All Scott could do was watch Kurt try and hold back a few more coughs while he stood there like a useless lump on a log.

 Luckily, the torturous wait wasn’t a drawn out affair. At the sound of the door, Scott quickly had his beam ready, but dropped his hand again when Hank and the others entered.

Surprisingly, locating and gathering the antidote occurred without any instances. Clutched in Hank’s hand was a pinkish liquid encapsulated in a vial. Falk led the way to a drawer in the built-in cabinets alongside the desk and withdrew a syringe.

 “So is that it?” Scott asked Logan who had rejoined him and Kurt at the table.

 “Seem so. Had to wait for Hank to briefly examine a drop but seems good. Not much of it, though.”

 “Couldn’t it have come in an easy to swallow pill form?” Kurt groaned as he watched Falk fill up the syringe. “Dr. McCoy will be the one to give me that, right?”

 “Ain’t no way I’d let Falk inject that into you,” Logan assured.

 Kurt still fidgeted nervously as Falk and Hank approached the table. Logan moved to block Falk’s path from encroaching any closer.

 “I don’t want you even close to him.”

 Falk disparagingly rolled his eyes at Logan and handed off the syringe to Hank. Hank moved next to Kurt, holding the needle down near his side to assuage Kurt’s anxiety.

“As a precaution, I would advise you to lie down,” Hank said in a steady tone. He wanted to impart a sense of calmness to not just Kurt but the whole group. He had done his best to quickly assess the antidote, and was confident in his analysis that the liquid should help reverse some of the effects of the ailments. Just looking at Kurt now, he knew it was the right decision to expedite the plan. Hank feared the worse if they delayed any longer.

However, the side effects of the antidote were indeterminate. All Falk had said was -

 “I’d take his advice. This will probably not be very comfortable.” Falk finished Hank’s thoughts.

Kurt looked back at the table and then at the syringe in Hank’s hand. With a resigned, shaky sigh, he lowered himself supine on the table, carefully making sure his hands and feet didn’t brush up against the restraints that were hanging innocuously off the sides.

A weight pressed down on the room as only the murmuring of Hank directing Kurt to lay his forearm facing up and the nervous exhalation of everyone filled the silence.

The needle was injected soundlessly.

“Alright?”

Kurt nodded curtly. He tensely lay on the table, awaiting the alluded discomfort that was sure to follow.

_Storm?_ Professor Xavier directed his attention on his other team that was still in the midst of action.

  _We’ve run through the facility and destroyed most everything we’ve come across._

_Excellent. Any more trouble with the guards?_

_We haven’t run across any in awhile. I think we’ve scared them off. But we need to return to the X-jet. Jean seems to be barely holding up._

A small shout of pain distracted the Professor from the conversation. Kurt was curling into a fetal position, hands clutching at his chest as Hank bent over him concerned. Whatever question Hank asked, Kurt shook his head in a small negative gesture in response.

  _Agreed. Let’s rendezvous at the cells and travel together from there._

_Alright. See you there._

Professor Xavier redirected his attention back to the room. Scott was now the one leaning in front of Kurt, hesitatingly placing a comforting hand on his shoulder as Kurt writhed in suppressed pain. Logan looked about two seconds from throttling Falk. Hank had returned to the desk and seemed to be backing up files on his flashdrive while also shuffling through and separating papers into two piles.

“We are leaving to meet up with the others at the cells before returning to the X-jet. I think we’ve spent enough time here, and I’d like to leave before the men from the mansion realize their mistake.”

“Indubitably, they are already aware of our absence and are en route,” Hank said.

“Even more reason for us to leave now. Logan, you escort Falk. I will take Kurt.”

“But Professor! –“

“Charles, I’m not assured-”

The Professor waved off Scott and Hank before they could make their arguments. “I don’t believe Kurt will be as easy to carry this time around. Scott, you’ve been favoring your injured leg and might need support yourself. And Hank will be leading us back as he’s our best shot at retracing our path.”

“I believe I can,” Hank nodded. He moved over to scoop Kurt up. “How’re you holding up?”

Kurt merely shook his head in response and clenched his teeth while burying his head in Hank’s shoulder.

The Professor looked up worriedly at Hank as he accepted Kurt into his lap.

“This will pass,” Hank said to relieve the concerns of everyone in the room. “The antidote is reversing the effects of the serum, but unfortunately seems to have an unpleasant side effect.”

“Most likely complications of the overdose,” Falk added.

The Professor hoped so. Kurt’s right arm was clutching the Professor’s shoulder, squeezing with every painful burst while his left arm was still clenched in a fist near his chest. Kurt’s tail had unconsciously wrapped around the Professor’s leg and was constricting in time with his right arm. Though he couldn’t feel it, the Professor knew that his leg was going to have a strange pattern of bruises later.

“Hank, if you will.”

With that as his cue, Hank gathered the pertinent documents and flashdrive. He slowly opened the door and peered down the hallways. Seeing no one, he gestured for the others to join him. They swiftly made their way towards reuniting with the others.

 XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Not long after they had arrived at the cells, the north doorway opened and in walked Storm who was supporting a frazzled-looking Jean. The other students seemed to have fared better, though the Professor could also see signs of exhaustion tracing their faces.

 His own charges didn’t seem to be doing any better either. Kurt was still clutching to him, though not as tightly as before while Scott’s limping had increased.

“Storm, is everything ok?” he asked.

“Yes, Jean was just stretched too thin already and seems to have overexerted herself. And Kurt?”

The Professor turned towards everyone, seeing the concern shared on all their faces. “He’s been administered the antidote, which though has some downsides, will hopefully reverse any ill effects.” Seeing how the other students wanted to voice their concerns, he held up a hand. “Once we leave this place, we can discuss any questions you all have. For now, we must leave before the other men return.”

Seeing Falk for the first time, Storm turned a questioning gaze to the Professor. “And him?”

“Dr. Falk will be our prisoner for now. As I said any questions can be answered later. Now Spyke,” the Professor said, “I need you to help support Scott.”

“Right,” Evan returned and went over to help support Scott who had been leaning against the wall while favoring his leg.

“Hank, please lead the way.”

With that, Hank continued retracing their path down the winding halls. Professor Xavier was confident in Hank’s ability to return them to the X-jet and focused all his attention on scanning the halls for the return of the guards.

As he reached out with his telepathy, he observed his students supporting each other, protecting each – giving each other so much. He regretted forcing his students through such an arduous task so soon after all the troubles they had faced. But sometimes necessity takes precedence over compassion. However, he was overwhelmed with pride at how well the students had performed.

After fifteen minutes of only several times having to backtrack to find the right path, Hank announced they were only a few hallways away from the garage and the X-jet.

Charles began to fully concentrate on looking for signs of the guards, but was distracted by feeling Kurt ease his grip and slowly relax. He glanced down. “Feeling better?”

Kurt slowly unclenched his eyes - still a bright, glowing gold; the Professor hoped that the antidote was working internally. “ _Ja_. A little,” Kurt responded. Just then, he seemed to realize the position of his tail and hand, so closely wrapped around his mentor. The Professor knew that if Kurt could flush with embarrassment, he’d be a bright red.

“Sorry, I-” Kurt quickly unwrapped his tail and tried to jerk away.

“It is fine.” The Professor pulled Kurt back. “If you pull away, you’ll fall off. We’re almost at the X-jet.”

Before he could respond, Kurt suddenly clenched again in pain and found himself clinging to the Professor. After a minute or two had passed, he slowly began to relax again.

The Professor looked on with concern. “You’ll feel better when you’re back in your own –” he broke off, looking up suddenly and coming to a sudden stop right before the turn into the garage.

_X-men, halt._

Logan roughly grabbed hold of Falk, pulling him to a stop along with everyone else. They all waited in nervous silence as the Professor seemed to concentrate. After an eternal minute, he continued.

_The guards from the mansion have returned. They’ve all recuperated from their disorganization and have prepared an ambush surrounding the X-jet._

Rogue felt her breath quicken and clenched her hands into fists.

_However,_ the Professor’s voice grew full of gravitas, _if they think this camisado will work, they are gravely mistaken. We are here. All together. As a team, nothing can stop us._

Jean found herself nodding along with the others, drawing courage from the Professor’s words.

In absolute stillness, the Professor mentally assigned orders, directing everyone to a vital role that would ensure their escape.

_Hank, I’ll need you to take Kurt. I’m the least mobile, and thus the most vulnerable._

_I can stand, Professor. I’m doing better than I thought._ Kurt’s ‘voice’ was feeble and thick with his accent, though he did his best to suppress any shakiness.

_While admirable, you are not up to making a mad dash towards the X-jet._

_Professor Xavier is correct. I can easily carry you and together we will arrive at our destination unscathed._

Kurt sighed but ultimately knew that Professor X and Hank were right. As Hank picked him up, he began to feel nauseous and dizzy. A shot of pain, centered around his chest and radiating outwards, accompanied the movement. Once settled in Hank’s arms, the pain slowly receded, though the nausea and dizziness decided to remain as unwelcome guests. He felt slightly silly at trying to protest his baggage state when it was obvious he could barely even think. He just hated telegraphing his vulnerability and uselessness.

After a few more directions were mentally arranged, the Professor turned towards everyone. _We are ready. As a team then. Storm, if you will._

With that, Storm swept her hands out as her eyes began to be obscured with a frightening solid white. Dense, thick fog proceeded to cover the area, flowing rapidly out from the hall to the ruined garage, extending all around the X-jet just beyond.

When cover was sufficient to conceal them, they set off silently. Logan had his claws extended towards Falk’s throat and a glimmer in his eye that promised swift action should he make a sound.

At first, their journey progressed smoothly. Though they were just as blinded by the fog as the guards, it was mostly a straight shot to the X-jet. Charles could only hope they didn’t veer too far off course.

Their luck didn’t hold.

“This fog’s unnatural! Shoot into it!”

 At the sound of the commanding voice, Professor X mentally urged everyone to run and follow through on their instructions.

Spyke and Rogue, already covered in bone armor, were throwing spikes towards the source of the tranquillizers. They didn’t stay in one spot, constantly darting away so their own trajectory couldn’t be traced back to them.  

 Bringing up the rear, Storm had had her hands full with maintaining the fog and sending out small whirlwinds that would knock away any darts on a path to herself or Professor X.

Out front, Jean and Scott were mutually supporting each other, trying to remain ahead of the group and keeping an eye out for the X-jet. Scott’s limp was more pronounced, but he wasn’t going to let it slow him down now. He wished he could use his powers, but knew that his laser beam would be an easy target, especially with him and Jean not being able to dart away.

Luckily, Scott’s powers weren’t needed just yet. The renewed combat had sent a surge of adrenaline through Jean. Any time a tranquillizer dart headed their way, she deflected it with a small burst of telekinesis. She didn’t have the power to bring any to a full stop.

Suddenly, Jean felt herself “fade” and watched as a dart flew through her chest. Surprised, Jean turned. Kitty smiled and removed her hand, letting Jean phase back.

“Got your back!”

“Shadowcat!” Scott shouted before Kitty could run off to help someone else out. “Do you think you could phase all three of us for a minute or two?”

Determined to help out and to show Rogue that she wasn’t just one to run away, Kitty nodded resolutely.

 “Alright, you ready?”

“Whenever you are.” Kitty put her hand back on Jean and placed a hand on Scott’s upper arm.

“Here it goes.” With that, Scott directed his gaze towards where he figured the tree tops above the men would be and let loose a blast from his eyes. A crashing of branches and yells followed.

“Quick!” Scott picked up the pace as best as he could, his legging throbbing in pain.

Kitty exerted all her effort as she phased all three of them, a bombardment of darts flying through them as the uninjured men retaliated.

The barrage was unrelenting. Now that the men had obtained some idea of their location, they weren’t going to let up.

_X-men, hurry._

“Oh man, what did I do?” Scott moaned as they began hurtling down the path.

“I’m not sure how much longer I can keep us all phased!” Kitty was tightly gripping their arms now, fingernails digging into flesh.

“Spyke!”

Rogue’s shout almost caused Jean to stop and turn around, but the others’ speed wouldn’t let her break away.

Hearing Rogue’s distress and making out the collapsed form of Spyke, there was only one option for Hank. He jogged back to the Professor, bringing them to a halt.

Shaking his head, the Professor held his arms out. “Pass him to me. I should have thought that someone might get shot and you would need –”

“Charles, hindsight is 20/20. Now is not the time.” Hank, as gently and quickly as he could, passed Kurt to the Professor. Kurt shuddered in response to the movement and leaned heavily against the Professor.

With that, Hank sprinted off and ran up to where Rogue had stooped down next to an unconscious Evan. A dart had caught him just right where his bone armor created vulnerable, exposed joints. “Keep running, I have him.”

By the time Hank had scooped Evan up, he had fallen slightly behind the others but was still quite ahead of Storm and Professor X. The fog was starting to lift some, and he could see vague outlines of the three students running at the front and Logan practically dragging Falk with him at a relentless pace.

“Professor.”

Professor X looked down, surprised to see that Kurt was even conscious.

“We’re running off path. The X-jet is just a bit to our right,” Kurt said, pointing in the direction they needed to go.

_Scott, you’re off course. Towards your right, about 35 degrees._

“Almost there.”

Upon hearing Kurt, Storm started gathering up the winds into one giant vortex. Leaves, sticks and fog began to swirl all around her, creating an imposing whirlwind.

“Here! Open her up!” Scott’s voice carried immense relief. The X-jet loomed out of the fog - her grey wings like open arms.

The Professor used the key fob as he heard darts ricocheting off the X-jet’s sides. It didn’t take long for him and the rest to arrive at the ramp.

Hank darted inside, wanting to deposit Evan into a seat and to help Scott with starting up the jet.

“Professor, go. I have one last surprise in store for these scum.” Storm’s mini-whirlwind had now transformed into a ferocious tornado. The last one on the ramp, Storm turned around and faced the path they had just fled down. With one dark glance, she extended her hand and pointed towards where the men were likely cowering. The tornado destroyed anything in its path, but Storm didn’t watch.

She simply turned around and boarded the X-jet as the ramp closed behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

%MCEPASTEBIN%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This felt like a difficult chapter to write. The pacing and balance between angst and science stuff to action and fighting was difficult. But I didn’t want to separate the two scenes into different chapters as that didn’t feel right either.
> 
> Thank you to those who do review. You help me stay motivated, especially when I’m on this shaky ground where I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.


End file.
